The Painmaker
by Saya Moonshadow
Summary: COMPLETE  VakaNoka  When a vanquished enemy rises and finds that the Toa Mahi are no more, it's up to Vakama and his team to defeat this threat once and for all. But what's this about a pulsing blade being the key to success?
1. Prologue

**Uhh...I swear this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment idea o-o; OK, maybe so it was, but uh...it sounded good to ME, so nyah :P So, Toa Metru fic, new enemies, new blahblahblah...hope you enjoy.**

**nogbn46242ouwbgwgow;hwh23bqj ----disclaimer.**

**For those who don't understand Saya language, it means I own nothing, save for this story, its circumstances, ten of the Toa Mahi and all the Toa Itami. Everything else belongs to LEGO Enterprises. Mahi Nui belongs to Whale Shark 7. Cuz I'm lame and need to borrow ideas for Lhikan's origins XD**

**The Painmaker  
Prologue: **

"_I swear if it's the last thing I do, Lhikan, I WILL have revenge! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!"_

_Lhikan looked coldly down at the receding figure of his fallen enemy, immersed in molten protodermis. When he spoke, his voice held none of the usual warmth._

"_Maybe so, Anubis, but even if you do, I will defeat you again. I will not kill you, but there will never be another opportunity for you to rise and hurt my people ever again. This is your final prison, the very place where you meant to keep me. May you stay here forever and beyond, repenting for your deeds."_

_He turned and walked out of the room, the screams of his enemy resonating behind him._

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_Pain. That was all he could feel. It burned at his very heart, ripping, tearing, clawing at his mangled body, each second causing more agony than he had ever thought possible. He couldn't think. It hurt so bad it was eating away at his brain as well as his body. The blood from his severed hand had stopped flowing long ago. He couldn't remember when, but the pain was even worse now than it was when it was first cut off. And by none other than his hated enemy. The one he had sworn revenge on._

_Lhikan._

_And not just Lhikan would pay. So would Kaylani. And Nidhiki, Aruna, Shruikan, Teeboe, Kroova, Rostu, Terios, Natay, Raura, and Vastor. They would all pay. He would make them pay._

_They would all pay._

_He would spare none, not even Kaylani, Aruna, Natay, and Raura, female though they were. His back bore the evidence of his battle with Toa Natay and her chain sickle, not to mention the dent in his once proud Kanohi mask made by Toa Kaylani's trident. His mask...it was still intact! After all these long, long years submersed in molten protodermis, he was surprised it hadn't been eaten away. But then again, it had been made from a Great Kanoka Disk...and those don't break easily._

_Those who had carried on Sylvaticus's legacy as Toa...he would make them all pay. Lodged in his chest had been the weapon of the first Toa itself, the legendary Blade of Order. Infused with Sylvaticus's heart, it had been thrust hard into his chest during their battle...and then once again four thousand years later by one of Sylvaticus's heirs, Lhikan of Mahi Nui. But it was gone now, hidden away. That accursed Toa of Fire had ripped it out of him and watched him fall. How long had it been since Lhikan had defeated him? A millennium? Two? Three?_

_However long it had been, Lhikan of Mahi Nui would regret sparing his life._

_For as the wise Turaga had said before he had killed him, "A dead enemy is an enemy no more."_

_He became aware of a strange sensation...one he hadn't felt for an unimaginable number of years._

_He felt cold._

_He thrust his remaining hand up, giving a roar of shock as he felt it break the surface of the molten pool of protodermis. The hand felt around until it found what was obviously the edge of the surrounding plateau and gripped. He was going to get out...he was going to get out..._

_With a scream of impossible agony, he wrenched himself out of the pool and flopped down onto the blessedly cool stone of cooled protodermis, sobbing for breath. But mixed in with his gasps were laughs of something resembling elation. He was free. For the first time since his defeat at the hands of Lhikan, he was FREE._

_How much time had passed? Was Lhikan's team even still around? He doubted if Vastor was still alive, the last time he had seen the Toa of Stone he had been on the ground, his life blood gushing in a steady stream from the horrific wound in his chest, with the screams of Raura filling the very air. But who knew? Raura had the power to heal, perhaps she had done so for Vastor._

_But not even Raura's exceptional healing skills would save them from what he was going to do to them. He would make them suffer ten times as much as they had made him, make them pay for every scar on his body, for every moment of his life lost thanks to them. But first...he had his brethren to think of._

_Making his way over to the wall, he ran his remaining hand almost lovingly over the web of crystal in which five multi-colored shapes were suspended. He brought back his fist and punched. The crystal shattered immediately and the five fell out._

_Six of them. That was all that had taken to almost destroy the twelve Toa Mahi, outnumbered though they were. It had taken three Toa Mahi to bring down one Toa Itami. Pathetic. And they had dared to call themselves heroes? They were mere Matoran in Toa armor, nothing more, nothing less._

_The memory of Natay's smirk as she had added her power to the stream that had imprisoned his brethren filled his mind and for a moment, all he could see was red. Witless girl, who did she think she was? But he had no time to dwell on that, as his brethren were stirring._

_The green one was the first to awaken fully. He raised his head groggily, the scratches on his neck and shoulder still not completely healed._

"_Osiris, my friend." the one who had awakened him said, and Osiris looked his way. His mangled face broke out into what might have passed as a smile._

"_Is this real? Are we free?"_

_His liberator nodded, although his eyes burned with the light of madness. "We are."_

_The bloodlust in his eyes became an inferno._

"_And we will begin our reign of terror once again. Nothing can stop us this time, not even the Blade of Order. Toa Lhikan is going to regret not killing me."_

_A single withered leaf skittered across the floor as the empty temple rang with the laughter of six voices. All six were tempered with the steel of hatred and vengeance._

_The Toa Itami...had returned._

**AN: Itami means 'pain', btw...anyway, I hope this turns out to be as good an idea as I think it will be, cuz I'm really looking forward to this one. Mahi Nui is copyright to Whale Shark 7, who came up with it for his fic "Toa-Hero", awesome fic. The Toa Mahi were a group of twelve if I remember correctly, but I didn't know who they were except Lhikan and Nidhiki obviously, so I decided to make my own. Kaylani, Aruna, Shruikan, Teeboe, Kroova, Rostu, Terios, Natay, Raura, and Vastor all belong to me. So do the Toa Itami. OK, I'ma shut up now and let y'all review.**


	2. Chapter 1: The Pulsing Blade

**Here's the first chapter, the last one was just the prologue ; Ahaha.**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter One: The Pulsing Blade**

"_Don't think that just because you're a woman I will go easy on you, Natay." he snarled at the orange Toa in front of him gripping a long chain sickle._

"_Oh don't worry." Natay's voice was cold and light. "Don't think that just because you're an idiot that I'll go easy on YOU."_

"_Witless girl, you will pay for that!" he roared and struck at her. Even blocking the hit, it still managed to send her crashing into the nearest wall. She slid down to the ground, thoroughly winded. He strode over to her and picked her up by the throat._

"_Before the day is over, you will know the true meaning of power."_

_Natay laughed mirthlessly. "You wanna see power? I'll show you power SCREAM!"_

_  
A roaring scream, so loud he couldn't stand it, came blasting out of her body, slamming into him with the force of a charging Kikanalo. He turned a flip in the air and felt something sharp and long pierce his back. He landed with a thud, and slowly looked at the Toa of Power Scream. She was smirking again, and clutched in one hand was the chain connected to the blade that now stuck out of his back._

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"_Matau..."_

The voice called him ceaselessly, never wavering, beckoning him. He couldn't help it, he couldn't see what it was, he didn't know who was calling him. It was at once strangely mysterious and achingly familiar. Almost as if he had once known this person who called his name every night.

"_Matau...Matau..."_

"I'm coming!" he shouted, running nowhere. The dark stretched endlessly, ceaselessly, he couldn't see where he was going and the voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.

"I can't see you!" he cried, stopping. "It's too dark, I don't know where I'm run-going!"

"_Matau..."_

Before his eyes, a ball of green light appeared. It was bright, but not too bright, just good enough so he could see it without having to shut his eyes. It hovered in front of him, tendrils of what looked like mist wavering from its form.

"What...what are you?" he breathed.

"_Matau...my little one..."_

"Who are you?"

"Jeez Matau, don't you recognize one of yore own teammates?"

Matau's eyes shot open at the sound of Onewa's voice. With a yelp of surprise, he tumbled out of his bed and onto the littered and messy floor below. Onewa threw back his head and laughed.

"Yeah, yeah...what d'you want now, carver?" the Toa of Air grumbled, getting up off his butt. "I was sleep-dreaming, and I wanna get back to it."

"Yeah I know, you were talkin' in yer sleep again." Onewa replied. Matau's face fell. "I was?" he asked. The Toa of Stone nodded, grinning.

"Yep. Same thing as last time, screamin' 'who are you' at the top o' yore lungs. What d'you get up to at night, anyway?"

Matau thought fast. "Plotting your demise." he said, pushing past his friend to go outside. He grumbled angrily as the cynical Toa's laughter followed him. Stupid Onewa. He was just jealous that he wasn't as good-looking as Matau. Yeah, that was it...Onewa was mad that he was just a lowly carver while Matau was a brave, bold, daring test subject for half-completed vehicles. Somehow, that didn't sound as good as it should have.

He brushed it off. Time to make the daily rounds...wait a minute, why WAS Onewa there? He spun on his heel and ran back to his hut. "Hey Onewa, what are you doing here?"

"I was wond'rin' when you was gonna ask," the Toa of Stone sniffed in a passable imitation of a Ko-Matoran. "The mask-melter's called a meeting. He sent me to get you."

Matau groaned. "Not another one!" he said. "This'll be the third one this week," Onewa agreed.

Matau rolled his shoulders, wincing as they cracked. "Well, time's a wastin'. Wanna ride-help?"

Onewa sighed. "I guess it's the only way. Sure."

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They were the last to arrive at the meeting. Matau made a point of sitting next to Nokama, who was sitting on the ground next to Vakama. She gave him a dull look and he grinned brightly at her. Vakama cleared his throat and stood. The other five looked up at him expectantly.

"You're probably wondering why I called this meeting...except Nuju, as he's the one who asked me to call it." he began. Matau and Onewa shot glares in Nuju's direction. Nuju responded with a glare that would have stopped a volcano erupting. Matau called it his 'death-glare' and it was justly named.

"Yes, I did..." the white Toa cleared his throat and dug around in his pack for a sheaf of papers. "I was star-gazing the other night-"

"No way!" Onewa said sarcastically. "Nuju, star-gazing? Say it isn't so!"

Nuju sent a death-glare his way and he shut his mouth.

"As I was saying, I was star-gazing and I foresaw something strange. I can't make heads or tails of it. I was thinking maybe one of you could help me."

"What is it?" asked Whenua, who had thus far been silent.

"I saw a sword. At least, I think it was, I could be mistaken. From what I could tell, it wasn't so magnificent looking, very plain looks-wise, but I could distinctly hear something coming from it."

"What?" Vakama asked.

Nuju looked, if possible, more troubled than anyone had ever seen him. "I thought I heard a heartbeat, and I saw the pommel stone pulse like a beating heart."

Silence greeted his words.

"A sword with a heartbeat?" Nokama said after a moment. "How is that possible?"

Nuju shook his head. "I'm not sure." he replied. "But I know what I heard. That sword definitely had a heartbeat."

Suddenly, Matau's dream came rushing back to him. "I believe you, ice brother," he said. They all looked at him, surprised. "I've been having these weird sleep-dreams lately," he confessed. "Someone keeps calling my name, but I don't know who. And I can't seem to find-seek them out. It's always dark, but I can hear them saying my name over and over, like a chant-song."

"Anything else?" Vakama inquired. Matau shook his head. "No. But last night, it changed. This...glowing ball-thingy-"

"Glowing ball-thingy?" Whenua grinned.

Matau tried to imitate Nuju's death-glare, but found it unsuccessful. "That's what I said, librarian," he said. "And...did this...glowing ball-thingy do anything?" Nokama asked.

"It did." he nodded. "It said 'Matau', bright-clear as sunlight. I don't know what it is, but...it knows my name."

Once again, total silence reigned.

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"_Anubis!" Osiris called. The leader of his team looked over at him from picking through a broken jewelry box._

"_What do you want, Osiris?"_

"_Look!" the Toa of Death showed him what he'd found. Anubis strode over to him and looked. "A...tombstone?" he asked, confused. "I think so," Osiris said. "But I can't read it. What does it say?"_

"_Thinking was never your strong-point, was it, Osiris?" Anubis said. Osiris looked at the ground in shame. "Sorry Anubis," he muttered. "But I-" He let out a yelp of pain as Anubis kicked him hard in the ribs and proceeded to beat him with his weapon._

"_I have no time for fools," he said as Osiris gasped for breath, clutching at his damaged chest. "Either you shape up, Osiris, or I'll just throw you back into the temple and be done with it. Am I clear?"_

_Osiris was silent. Anubis yanked him up by his neck and squeezed until he cried out. "I said, am I CLEAR?"_

"_Cr...crystal clear, sir!" Osiris gasped. Anubis dropped him and kicked him once more. "Now, let me see this rock of yours."_

_He read the text easily. "'Here lies the final resting place of Kaylani, Toa Mahi of Water. May her journey to the silent island be peaceful. Signed, Lhikan, Toa Mahi of Fire'."_

_He growled. "And...here's more! Aruna...Teeboe...Shruikan...Kroova...Rostu...Raura..." He looked up incredulously. "They're all here. The Toa Mahi, all their graves are here! Except..." His eyes scanned the rows of headstones again. "Where are Lhikan, Nidhiki, and Natay? Are they still alive?"_

_Osiris cleared his throat timidly. Anubis whirled on him. "What is it now? I have no time for games." His subordinate pointed behind him. A carved stone monument stood alone in the middle of the field. In a centerpiece in the middle of it was a mask they both recognized. "In memory of Nidhiki of Air, once valiant Toa, now banished from Metru-Nui forevermore. May his passing be better than that which he imposed upon his victims. Signed, Lhikan, Toa Mahi of Fire'. What happened?"_

_Osiris shrugged, but Anubis ignored him. "All their tombstones are here, and now we find that Nidhiki was banished. Though for what I can only guess. But what about Lhikan and Natay? What happened to them?" He continued on muttering for long after that._

"_Anubis!" He turned at the sound of his name._

"_Ah, Shardmaker, what news do you bring?"_

_Set, Toa Itami of Silicon, shook his head. "I'm afraid we still haven't found the Blade, sir." he said stiffly, red eyes subdued. "We did, however, find this." He held out a piece of stone on which more words were carved. Anubis bent over it and let out a roar of rage._

"_I have taken the Blade of Order and hidden it from questing eyes that may look for it for evil purposes. It is a powerful weapon, and I cannot destroy it no matter how hard I try. All I can do is hide it as best I can. And thus I have put it in a gift that I will soon deliver to a good friend of mine. I only hope this friend never has to realize that I have given him two things instead of one. May the Blade of Order, the pulsing blade, never have to be used again. Signed, Lhikan, Toa Mahi of Fire."_

"_Uh...Anubis, are you alright?" Set asked nervously._

"_That accursed Toa!" Anubis roared, throwing the tablet onto the ground, where it broke in half. "He's hidden the Blade of Order and given it to someone else! And who knows how far away this friend of his is now? This cursed city is empty!" He spat on the tablet._

"_Well now," Set gave a small smile. "Hestia made a discovery as to that." He showed him a small book, bound preserved leaves. Anubis took it and read._

"_Why has this happened? I thought Nokama was just a regular Matoran like me. And now it turns out she is the new Toa of Water. I can't believe it. After all my hard work, I will never be able to show her up, impress her. What can a Matoran do against a Toa? And word has it that it has something to do with the package that Toa Lhikan gave her. It was quite long, I remember them saying. What do I do now? The only thing I have that can be a hope of showing her up is knowledge of the location of a Great Disk."_

_Anubis stopped reading. "A long package?" he whispered, a smile spreading slowly across his mask. Set nodded. He was relieved that his leader hadn't hit him yet. He could tell from the marks on Osiris's chest that the Toa of Death hadn't been so lucky._

"_Do you know where this Nokama has gone?" Anubis asked, his voice low and tight with excitement. Set nodded again. "Yes. To a place west of here. We don't know the name of it, but we have a good idea as to where it lies."_

"_Then we set out immediately." Anubis announced, straightening up._

"_Immediately?" Set looked crestfallen. His leader rounded on him angrily. "Yes, immediately! Do you question my authority, Set? Or am I to believe that you're as stupid as Osiris?"_

"_Neither, sir." Set said quietly, not meeting his eyes. Anubis straightened again and smiled. "Good. Then get moving. I'm sure you can find some kind of boat around the Ga-Metru harbor."_

"_Yes sir." Set hurried off, relieved to be out of Anubis's presence without any of the extensive damage the leader of the Toa Itami was prone to dishing out._

"_Osiris?"_

"_Yes sir?" Osiris looked at him, awaiting his orders._

"_Get some provisions and cook them up. I'm hungry."_

"_Immediately, Anubis." He hurried off, spiked hammer out and ready to kill._

_Anubis sat down, putting the pieces of the shattered tablet back together. He smirked as he reread the words written by Lhikan so long ago. The fool...to think that he could keep the Blade of Order safe from a Toa Itami?_

_Soon...soon, the Blade of Order, the blade with a heartbeat, would be his, and then nothing would be able to stand against him._

_Not even the heart of Sylvaticus, first Toa ever known._

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"Blade with a heartbeat...blade with a heartbeat..." Whenua muttered, poring over a huge book roughly the size and shape of four Koli balls put together.

"I could never look-read that." Matau shuddered. "Hush." Nuju commanded. "Let him read."

"Found anything yet, Whenua?" Vakama asked.

"I think so," the Toa of Earth replied. He showed them the passage he was looking at. Vakama leaned forward and read it out loud.

"Of all the weapons ever recorded, there is probably none greater and more mysterious than the fabled Blade of Order, once used to destroy a monster of chaos by the hands of its owner, Sylvaticus, first Toa, and Toa of Air. It is described as being a golden blade, longer than a regular sword, but not as much as perhaps a longsword. It was forged within the bowels of the Mt. Valamai on Voya Nui and there it can be destroyed. When battling this "chaos monster" Sylvaticus found that her weapon wasn't quite enough to deal with it and its five companions, more slaves than companions. She infused her heart with the Blade, making it even stronger and stabbed it straight into the heart of the chaos monster, imprisoning it. To remove the Blade would be to release the monster, so she left it in its chest, her heart along with it. The current whereabouts of the Blade of Order are unknown."

He whistled. "Wow. What a tale."

"And it's true, too." Nokama said quietly. "Toa Sylvaticus DID defeat the chaos monster, whatever it was, and its five slaves-slash-companions." She looked thoughtful. "It must have been quite the weapon." She looked at Vakama. "Nice reading."

He blushed, looking at the floor, unable to look at her any longer for fear he'd do something stupid. "Tha...thanks."

"Wait a minute," Onewa interrupted, making the two look at him. "Did the book say SHE, or was the ink so old that it was blurred?"

"Oh, didn't I say?" Whenua smiled. "Toa Sylvaticus was a Toa of Air...but unlike all other recorded Toa of Air, she was a female."

"She was?" Matau leaned forward. Sylvaticus? That name was...familiar...almost like the voice in his dream.

"Yes." Whenua said. "The first Toa ever...was a female."

The other five Toa were struck dumb.

**AN: I like where this one's going. Hopefully the Toa Itami don't sound too much like the Piraka VV But anyway, I hope to get some more reviews -hint hint-**

**The concept of Toa Sylvaticus came from the fact that I have no clue who the first ever Toa was, and I decided to make up my own. There'll be more info on her later in the story, as well as on the rest of the Toa Mahi and the Toa Itami. I hope you like it so far, though. :)**

**I'm gonna try to update this at LEAST once a week. No set schedule, but I'm gonna commit to it XD**


	3. Chapter 2: Taken

**And here's chapter TWO of The Painmaker. I find that after not working on a long epic style story for about two months, it tends to leave you restless to do one XD**

**I woulda had this posted a LOT earlier, but the stupid upload thingy was all jacked up and not letting me upload the damn document :( Sorry guys.**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Two: Taken**

"_Lhikan-brother..." Nidhiki murmured as he gazed up at his leader through eyes glazed over by pain._

"_Nidhiki, I swear, if you die on me, I will never speak to you again." Lhikan growled, fighting back tears. His hands were covered in his teammate's blood._

_Nidhiki chuckled weakly. "Never talk-speak to me again, eh?" he asked softly. "I don't think if I die that ANYONE will be able to talk-speak to me, Lhikan-brother...nor I to them." He coughed, blood flying out of his mouth._

"_That's why I'm not going to let you die." Lhikan said through clenched teeth. "You will NOT die and leave this team, Nidhiki Mahi. You are going to live and be grateful about it, or so help me, I will make you!"_

_Next to him, Natay added her thoughts to the matter. "We'll get you to Raura as soon as possible, OK? Just hang on till then, Nidhiki. Please."_

"_Always trying to play the Toa-hero, Tay-Tay..." The Toa of Air coughed again, but to his friends' relief, no blood came up. "Whoever said... I was going to die?"_

"_I did."_

_Lhikan and Natay looked behind them to see Hera stirring. She seemed wholly unaffected by the wound in her side caused by Nidhiki's great scythe, even though Lhikan knew at least one of her ribs had to be broken. Mata Nui, just how strong WERE these Toa Itami?_

"_I told you that you wouldn't live out the night, Nidhiki," she growled, double-bladed axe pointed at him. "You didn't listen. You still chose to fight me anyway. And now you're paying for it. Shall I kill your companions as well as compensation for this cut you've given me?"_

"_Don't...touch them!" Nidhiki attempted to rise, but the pain was too great and he fell back, fighting unconsciousness._

"_Only one such as you would strike down a helpless foe," Natay snarled, her hands gripping the chain of her weapon hard in an attempt to keep her temper under control. "If you had any honor at all, you would challenge one of us who isn't hurt, who WASN'T hurt at the beginning of the battle!"_

"_Well then, I certainly won't be choosing you, power screamer," Hera said disdainfully. "You're even more banged up than he is." Natay looked down at herself. Her right arm was in a sling, her torso was bandaged up to keep her from literally coming apart at the seams. As much as she hated to admit it, the Toa of Acid was right. She cursed fate for making it so._

"_Instead, I think I will fight your leader. Lhikan, is it? Get up here and fight like the Toa you so claim to be, Lhikan. Let's see what you've got."_

_Lhikan looked up at her, and she took a step back._

"_Oh, I will, Hera." he said quietly. "And I promise, by the time I am done with you, you won't be so confident in yourself."_

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_Anubis stood on the prow of their small ship, watching silently as the waves of liquid protodermis lapped at its sides. Every once in a while, his hand would shoot up and block a wave as it splashed over. Three days. Three bloody days since they had left Metru Nui, and still no sign of this island that Set had claimed the one with the Blade of Order was on. If this turned out to be some sort of wild Kikanalo chase, then the Toa of Silicon was going to pay dearly for making him look a fool. He didn't tolerate anything like that. It was one of the things that made him such an effective leader, not tolerating any sort of blunder or weakness from his team. Sure, Osiris was an exception, but Anubis had given up long ago trying to make him into the rabid killing machine he himself was. After all, they couldn't all be honor students._

_Sometimes he wished he could go back to what he was in the days before his defeat at hands of Sylvaticus. Capable of anything and everything, able to defeat anything and everything...bound to nothing, serving no one but himself. And his companions to serve him._

_It was one of the reasons he so despised history. It only reminded him of both his past defeats._

_Straightening up, he called to the one in the crow's nest, "What do you see?"_

_Typhon, Toa of Shadow and carrying the title of Fearmaker, took his vibrant red eyes off the churning ocean of protodermis and called back, "Nothing yet, Anubis, nothing, 'cept a buncha destroyed rocks and some shiny thing."_

"_Destroyed rocks and 'shiny things' mean nothing to me," Anubis snapped. "Do you see anything resembling an island?"_

"_No sir," Typhon's reply came back down. "When I do, you'll be the first to know."_

"_I had better be." Anubis left his underling to stare out at the ocean and went back to the railing. At least Osiris was a good navigator, for all his stupidity. They had the coordinates, all they needed was to get there (if the island even existed). Now that he thought about it, he wouldn't put it past Lhikan to have planted that scrap of paper and message just to confuse him. He shook his head. Well, he'd just have to wait and see. There was no point in not following any lead he had, he could take no risks when it came to the Blade of Order, the one thing that could truly defeat him._

_When it came to strengths and weaknesses, he was the ultimate master. It was one of the reasons he was called the Painmaker. He saw through his enemies...saw their weaknesses, their fears, their hopes, and their dreams. He saw each and every single one of their breaking points, their...shatterpoints as he liked to call them. And then he would strike that shatterpoint, and watch as his victim screamed._

_It was just as well that this "Nokama" person was a female. That's what the diary-thing had said, anyway. Because, as is well known, females were weak, and couldn't protect anything to save their lives, much less themselves or something like a legendary weapon they didn't even know they had. Although...looking at the fist-shaped dent in Osiris's armor, he could believe that SOME women were strong...but only the two on his team. No one messed with Hera and Hestia and was able to truly say they had won._

_Acid and Nightmare. The perfect assets to his team. One to destroy the body, one to destroy the mind. While acid ate away at your body, destroying it before your very eyes, nightmare rampaged through your brain, filling it with visions of your very worst fears, things you'd give anything to not see._

_Even your life._

_When he had the Blade of Order in his grasp, he would be unstoppable, the way he was before his first defeat. Order and Chaos combined in one would be the most powerful force ever known, even more so than the creator god, Mata Nui. Ooh, he'd LOVE for the Great Spirit to come down and challenge him once he had his hands on that blade. He'd give that "great spirit" a run for his money, oh yes he would. Maybe that was the reason Sylvaticus had engraved the legend symbol in the hilt of the sword. To taunt him. To show him that she had served the force of creation and light with everything she had. That she served Mata Nui with everything she had._

_A mottled white, green, and brown Toa climbed up into the crow's nest and approached Typhon carefully. "Typhon?" she asked. He whirled around, but relaxed at the sight of her. "Hera," he said, holding up three fingers in an ancient gesture of greeting. She did the same and came to stand by him._

"_Have you seen anything yet?"_

"_I wish." he sighed, still scanning the water. "Anubis is getting impatient. You know what he'll do if this turns out to be a false trail, Hera."_

_She nodded solemnly. "Yes. We most likely won't make it through his wrath."_

"_That's what worries me," he replied. "It IS likely that this is a wild Kikanalo chase, and I fear especially for Set's wellbeing if it is. He's the one who found the map and the note, and he's the one who took it to Anubis. He'll be the first to go if this is a false trail."_

"_That's true," she conceded, "but I don't think it's false."_

"_I hope so." he said, still staring out at the ocean, "I sure hope so."_

"_Well-"_

"_Wait a minute..." He squinted hard, then gave a shout down to Anubis down on deck. "Anubis! I see land! Land!"_

_In a flash, Anubis had scaled the ladder and was standing in front of him. "Where?" he demanded. Typhon pointed outward. "Right there," he said. "You can see it if you squint." Anubis squinted and then a malicious smile grew across his face. "Good work, Fearmaker. Hera, go tell Osiris to full speed ahead."_

"_Immediately, Anubis." She jumped off the crow's nest, landed on the deck with a small "thud!" and disappeared inside the cabin where Set and Osiris were steering._

"_So..." Anubis's eyes glittered. "We are here. After three long days, we have arrived. Finally, we can get the Blade of Order."_

"_Indeed, sir." Typhon replied. "It is a good day."_

"_For some." Anubis said, staring hungrily at the now-visible island. "I think I shall enjoy taking the Blade of Order from this Nokama."_

"_But sir...Lhikan would have hidden it in the safest place possible. You said it yourself. From what Set has told me so far, he gave Nokama and five others Toa-stones, and turned them into Toa."_

Anubis stopped short. "If he gave it to her along with a Toa-stone, it could very well have been fused into her body!" he breathed, eyes widening. It would have been almost comical if Typhon hadn't been so sure he was about to get the protodermis beaten out of him for even daring to suggest there might be a hitch in the plan. To his relief, his leader turned away from him, muttering to himself.

"_If it's inside of her, we will need to get it out to use it...and the only place where such de-fusion could take place is in Mt. Valamai, where it was made..." He let out a roar of rage then, and brought his fist down so hard on the railing that the wood broke. He flexed the fingers and ran one up the hook that Set had attached to his hand-stump in place of his real hand. "So. It comes down to this, eh?" He looked at Typhon, a rueful smile on his face. "If it is indeed inside of this Nokama, then we will need to take her to Mt. Valamai to remove it."_

"_I understand, sir." Typhon said, although in truth he didn't understand all of it._

"_Good." Anubis's eyes returned to the island. "Soon..." he whispered._

"_Soon I will have my revenge..."_

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"Have they made any progress yet?" Vakama asked, coming up behind the Toa of Water. She glanced back at him from her seat on the dock and looked back over the ocean. "I'm afraid not," she said, motioning for him to sit with her, which he did so immediately. "Both Nuju and Whenua have been searching for the past three days, and neither of them has found anything yet. Even Onewa's been helping, but so far, nothing's come up." He patted her arm reassuringly.__

"I'm sure they will," he said, sounding way more confident than he really felt. But man, it felt good to have her smile up at him like he had just made everything all right. He blushed and looked out at the ocean, and heard her small chuckle. "I suppose you're right." she said, leaning back on her arms and looking up at the sky.__

"Hm. Pretty sunset, isn't it?" She indicated the glowing pinks, reds, and oranges on the water and clouds cast by the setting sun. He nodded, looking at her.__

"Mm. Very pretty."__

"Well, isn't this just ADORABLE."__

They both turned around at the sound of Onewa's voice. Nokama smiled sheepishly up at him. He tried to glare at her sternly, but was unable to and finally smiled. If anyone was like a little sibling to him, it was Nokama. He had been the one to chase Matau away from her that one time, and ever since then, he had felt a certain brotherly affection for her and a need to protect her. Seeing the look on Vakama's face, he grinned slyly.__

"So, any proclamations comin' about yet?"__

"P-Proclamations of what?" Vakama asked, the blush on his face indicating that he knew EXACTLY what Onewa was talking about.__

Onewa grinned and shook his head. "Nothin'. Just thought I'd come check on you two. And oh yeah, Nuju said he needed help with translatin' some runes, Nokama."__

"Thanks," She smiled at her "big brother" and got up. She looked down at Vakama. "Talk to you later then, I guess."__

Onewa didn't quite miss his leader's sigh as she walked away. He grinned again. The guy was as obvious as the red of his armor. "So, have you told 'er yet?" he asked.__

Vakama looked up at him sharply. "Told her what?" he asked. Onewa shook his head. "Dude, you are so stupid. It's so fraggin' obvious that you got feelin's for 'er. Why don't you just come out and tell her?"

Vakama growled and looked away. "I do not have any feelings for Nokama past friendship."__

"Strong friendship."

"No. Just friendship. Nothing big, or life-changing, or anything like that. She's my friend and nothing more."

"So you say." Onewa answered. "Although...that look she gave you was pretty sweet..." He changed to a high-pitched voice and danced around his friend, singing loudly.

"When you see a guy reach for stars in the sky, you can bet that he's doin' it for some doll..."

"Shut up." Vakama tried to punch him, but Onewa leapt back, laughing. "Since when were YOU into musicals?" he asked, recognizing the song from an old play he had gone to see once at the Coliseum, back when he was still just a regular mask-maker. Onewa shrugged, but continued dancing, his big feet making STOMP-STOMP sounds on the hard wood dock.

"I'm not, but listenin' to Whenua sing the same songs over an' over again for a couple days when yore in captivity with him'll do things to ya."

"Remind me to beat him." Vakama muttered, drawing his knees to his chest and hugging them.

Onewa laughed again and sat down next to him. "You're probably the easiest person to see through I ever met, Vakama. You wear your heart out on your armor. No, I take that back, Matau's the easiest."

"What joy. I have the honor of being second only to Matau in easiest to see through." the Toa of Fire muttered.

"Damn straight. Now listen to me." He had suddenly turned serious, and Vakama looked at him, surprised.

"If you just sit there and watch her, nothin's EVER gonna happen between you. She'll just lose interest an' move on, most likely to someone like Nuju'r Matau. And somehow," he grinned, "I don't think you'd like to see her tellin' Matau how hot he is, huh?"

He roared with laughter at the look on Vakama's face. "I'll take that as a no. Well, you know whatcha gotta do." He got up and was about to walk away when he turned back and stuck his face right in the Toa of Fire's. Vakama's eyes widened nervously.

"One more thing. You break her heart, and I break your arm. Understand?"

Vakama nodded quickly, knowing that the Toa of Stone meant it. "I understand."

Onewa smiled, uncharacteristically serene and walked off. "Seeya, Red."

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Softly, the small, spectral ship landed on the beach, not too far in as to get stuck, but just enough so that it didn't rock when its passengers disembarked. Osiris laughed maliciously, and Anubis kicked him in the back, sending him into the sand. The Toa of Death's eyes widened as the point of Anubis's hook settled against his throat.

"One sound, Osiris the Ghostmaker, just one sound and I swear I'll kill you." the leader of the Itami growled, eyes burning into Osiris's like twin flames of blood. "If you endanger this mission, you won't live to tell the tale. Am I understood?"

Osiris nodded quickly. "Yes Anubis."

"Good." The pressure was lifted from his throat and he gasped silently as he massaged it. Hera shot him a smirk and he scowled at her.

"Halt!" Anubis's whispered shout cut through and they all threw themselves behind the nearest large object – a gigantic rock. Two male voices were talking and, by the sound of it, walking on the pier. By the light of the moon, they could just barely make out two Toa shaped figures.

"I'm tellin' you man, these sleep-dreams o' mine're real!" the one on the left snapped. The other one sighed. "I never said they weren't Matau, but you know what they say – too much of a good thing is a bad thing."

"How is dreaming the same thing over and over a bad-dark thing?"

"It makes you even crazier than you already are."

"Haha, very funny Whenua."

Hera gaped at them. "Toa..." she whispered wonderingly.

"Those must be part of the six that Lhikan gave Toa-stones to." Hestia nodded.

Typhon looked over at Anubis. The leader's face was twisted by an ugly scowl. "Curse!" he spat. Typhon sighed. It looked like they'd have to take the Nokama girl to Mt. Valamai after all.

"I don't see what you're complaining about, Matau – you've got us here with you."

"Oh sure." the one called Matau said sarcastically. "I got an egotistical carver, an emo mask-melter, a scholar with his armor on too tight, a teacher who never stops speak-teachin', and you. Oh yeah, I feel good!"

Whenua chuckled. "Yeah, too bad you'd do anything to get that teacher to like you."

"She wants me," Matau smirked. "I can tell."

To his surprise, Whenua laughed again. "Oh sure." he grinned. "That's why she's always down-grading you...no pun intended."

"You sure have a way of makin' people feel better-good about themselves, you know that? It's only a matter of clock-time till Nokama comes around, you'll see."

"Sure."

Set smothered a gasp. "She's here!" he whispered to Anubis, who had stiffened at the mention of the name. At that moment in time, however, Hestia, who's foot had been resting on a small rock, slipped and the rock clattered against some other small stones, way too loudly for their cause. All six stiffened, awaiting what they knew was coming.

"Wait a minute, what was that?"

"I dunno, let's go look."

Footsteps came their way.

Anubis jumped up, eyes burning maniacally. "Attack!" he roared. The other five Toa Itami barreled out from behind the rock.

Matau gave a roar of surprised rage as he was bowled over by what looked like five dark Toa – but that was impossible! As two began to beat upon him and three on Whenua, his hero instincts kicked in and the two who were on him were on him no more. The green Toa stood battle-ready, his aero-slicers in his hands.

"Want some? Come and get it!" he shouted, hurling himself at them. The one with red, black, and blue coloring ran to meet him, her javelin pointed at his heart. He dodged and tried to hit her with his aero-slicer, but she spun around impossibly fast and her foot hit him squarely in the right temple.

Whenua grappled fiercely with the bulky black and orange Toa, locked in a battle to see who was stronger. He could honestly say he had never met anyone – short of perhaps Onewa – with this much raw power in reserves like this. It was taking all his strength just to keep it at a stalemate, forget winning. He grunted angrily. The stranger noticed this and smirked.

"Too strong, am I?" he taunted, shoving hard. Whenua staggered, but immediately shoved back with all his might.

"NO ONE is too strong for me!" he growled.

"Hey, what in Mata Nui's name is going on over there?"

"Cripes, there are more!" the green, white, and brown one cried, looking up from kicking Matau, who was lying on the sand, unable to move as there was another adversary on top of him. The other one, who was black, red, and blue, looked up as well and swore. "Anubis, Typhon, hurry!" she called down at the two receding figures that were disappearing down the Ga-Koro street to the other pier.

She was knocked off of Matau by a large proto-piton and landed heavily in the sand. She spat out some and found herself facing an extremely angry Onewa. "Who tha frag're YOU?" he spat.

She smirked and knocked his piton away with what looked like a two pointed javelin.

"I'm your worst nightmare...literally."

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"What was it that you wanted to tell me, Vakama?" Nokama asked, facing him on the moonlit pier. He blushed and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Uh...well, you see...uh...ahaha..."

He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. Was he really taking Onewa's advice and going to tell her how he felt?

She took his hand and he stopped. "What do you want to say?"

He sighed. Well, now or never...

"For some time now, I've been having these-"

"GET DOWN!" She dove on top of him, just barely managing to save him from being sliced in half by the giant scythe that had swung right where he had been standing. They landed heavily on the wood, skidding to a stop and both looking immediately for their assaulter.

"Gah, missed!"

Two Toa shaped figures were standing on the pier, one holding the giant scythe and the other appearing to be weaponless. The one with the scythe pointed it at the pair.

"Where's the Blade of Order? Tell us and no one gets hurt."

'_Oh jeez.'_ Vakama thought. _'I shoulda known this Blade of Order thing was bound to cause trouble...'_

Aloud, he said, "We don't have the Blade of Order, and whoever you are, you will clear off immediately or be forced to!"

"Shee, he sounds just like ol' Lhikan used to, eh Anubis?" the one with the scythe grinned. Vakama stopped dead.

The other one nodded. "Exactly like him. Except...this one sounds more like a child than a Toa. Perhaps these are more Matoran in Toa armor, Typhon?"

"You...knew Toa Lhikan?" Vakama's whispered. The weaponless one looked at him and he instinctively pulled Nokama closer to him. This...thing's...eyes were as manic and feral as any twelve Hordikas' had been. And he didn't like that it was weaponless. Some of his worst experiences thus far had been with weaponless enemies.

"Oh yes..." it answered, stepping out into the moonlight so they could see. "I even had the pleasure of having him run a sword through my chest...the very blade that rests within your little Nokama there." He pointed at the Toa of Water with his left hand, which, to Vakama's shocked disgust, was a poorly attached hook, obviously the mark of some horrible wound long ago. Or maybe not so long ago, he didn't even know where these strange Toa came from.

"Nokama doesn't have the Blade of Order!" he snapped, holding her closer to him protectively. He felt her cling to him and felt a burst of confidence come over his initial fear. "And even if she did, I wouldn't let her give it to you!"

The strange Toa looked him up and down. "Let me guess, you're the new Toa of Fire, are you?" he asked. "Where is Lhikan? My business is with him and the one called Nokama."

"Lhikan is dead." Vakama said shortly. "And I'm certainly not giving you Nokama. I'll say it again: leave Mata Nui or I will make you."

The dark Toa's mouth curved into a sadistic smirk.

"Make me."

With a battlecry, Vakama let go of Nokama and charged, firing disks like his life depended on it. He got close and then the weaponless Toa's smile grew. He extended his real hand and Vakama was hit with an invisible source of unimaginable power. He was thrown back several feet and landed, completely winded. The dark Toa laughed cruelly.

"Come at me, little one," he taunted. "Succeed where even the mighty Lhikan failed!"

"Vakama, no!" Nokama cried, but it was too late. The Toa of Fire was on his feet again and charging. The dark Toa's hand flicked out again, and he was blasted out into the ocean.

"Vakama!" Nokama screamed, trying to dive in after him, but the scythe-wielder grabbed her around the waist and dragged her back.

"Let me go!" She pounded at him, too angry and scared to even think of using her hydro blades. He responded with a quick pinch to the back of her neck that made her body numb and vision go black.

Typhon grinned as he felt the pretty blue Toa slump against him and turned to Anubis, who was picking an imaginary spot of dust off his hook.

"Too easy."

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Nuju's crystal spike threw out sparks as it clashed once again with the blade of the dark green, brown, and black Toa. "What...in Mata...Nui's name...ARE these things?" he gasped. "How can they...be beating us so easily?"

Onewa grunted as the javelin-wielder's foot connected with his gut. "I dunno, but they're strong!" he replied, swinging at her with his piton, not caring if he hit her or not, just so long as he got her away from him.

At this moment, two more of these strange dark Toa came running up, one carrying a limp blue form over his shoulder. The one with a hook for a hand slowed down slightly to shout at the other dark Toa.

"Itami, pull back! Back to the ship, we've got what we came for!"

Immediately, the four attackers pulled back, not glancing twice at their opponents. Matau gagged weakly and shouted at the green, white, and brown one, "Get back here coward!"

But the Toa didn't come back. She ran on and jumped aboard the small ship as it began to pull away from shore. Before the four Toa Metru's eyes, it disappeared into the night.

Whenua sighed and collapsed on the sand. "What...did they want?" he gasped, chest heaving. Up and down his body there were wounds and scratches of varying critical degree from the strange black and orange Toa's broadsword.

"I'm not sure, but apparently they got it." Nuju replied, inspecting the long nasty cut he had received on his arm. "Let's just hope it wasn't anything too serious."

Onewa sat up straight from where he had fallen, almost as if he had just realized something terribly important. "Where're Vakama and Nokama?"

Matau's eyes widened in horror. "That blue thing the scythe-carrier was holding..." His heart skipped a beat as he realized what it was. "Nokama!"

"Hey, what's that?" Whenua limped over to the lapping waves, taking care not to get too close. A red shape was bobbing in the water.

"I think it's...Vakama!" Nuju immediately dove in, ignoring the searing pain the salt water caused his wounds. He dragged the unconscious Toa of Fire onto shore and set about to waking him up. "Vakama! Vakama, wake up!" He slapped his face in a vain attempt to wake him.

"Here, let me." Onewa came over and turned Vakama onto his back. He slammed his fists down and Vakama coughed, water flying from his mouth.

"Chough...augh...wh-what happened?"

"We were attacked by...strange Toa." Nuju explained, pulling him into a sitting position. "They're gone now, but they were strong. Strong enough so that we didn't know if we'd win or not. Speaking of which, what on Mata Nui were you and Nokama doing? We thought you had gotten hurt or something."

Nuju ate sand as Matau shoved him out of the way and stuck his face into Vakama's, eyes wide with fear. "Where's Nokama?" he demanded. "Where is she?"

Vakama's eyes widened as he remembered. "They...they took her..." he said. Matau sat back with a thud. "No..." he whispered.

The entire group was overtaken with the shock of it all.

"What did they want? Did they tell you?" Whenua finally asked.

Vakama nodded miserably, pulling his legs to his chest and hugging them again. "Yes. They wanted the Blade of Order, and seemed to think Nokama had it for some reason...and I couldn't stop them. I tried to fight them, but the one...he was too strong. He beat me in two hits, sent me into the ocean with just one blast of...whatever his power is." He buried his face in his hands. "They took her, and I couldn't do a thing. I...I...I don't know what to do!"

Onewa sat down with a thump. "You mean they...?" No. This was not happening, repeat, not happening. They hadn't kidnapped his little sister, they hadn't kidnapped his little sister...

The Toa of Fire nodded again, not looking up.

"We have to go after her." Whenua declared. "Blade or not, she's our sister, and more importantly, our FRIEND. What kind of friends would we be if we let her get taken and did nothing about it?"

Nuju and Onewa nodded. "I'll go see if the Ga-Matoran have any spare boats." Nuju murmured and staggered off, Whenua in his wake. Already they were arguing about what kind of boat was better, a skiff or a ship.

When they returned, they had a young Ga-Matoran called Hahli with them. Silently, face streaked with tears, she showed them the boat they would be using. Nuju patted her on the head as she left to find others to help her provision it. They heard her sob once she was gone.

The five male Toa stood in front of the boat. It wasn't big, only about twice the size of the Vahki transport they had used to rescue the first batch of Matoran canisters, but it would do. Moreover, it was fast. And fast was what they needed.

Vakama especially was feeling angry and guilty. If it hadn't been for him, Nokama would still be here, happy and free...he clenched his fists as he helped Whenua up the ramp and into the boat.

The Toa of Earth looked up at the sound of his leader's voice. Jeez, he hadn't heard him sound like that since...

"I swear, if it's the last thing I do, I will make this 'Anubis' pay. If they think they can take her away from me, they've got another thing coming. No one takes Nokama away from me."

Since he had been commander of the Visorak horde.

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**  
Featured Song: "Haunted (Demo Version)" –Evanescence  
**  
**AN: So that's Chapter TWO...and it's no less than almost sixteen full pages in Verdana, size 12. Ahaha. I didn't realize this chapter was so long. It's twice as long as I usually do lol.**

**So the Itami have taken Nokama, dundundun. :o Drama. And Vakama is officially pissed off. In the middle of his proclamation of love, some dude comes along and completely RUINS the moment, how would you feel? He's reasonably angry, especially at being tossed into the ocean like a rock.**

**I was listening to the demo version of Evanescence's "Haunted". Here's the link to the audio: It kinda goes with the situation here...somehow. Ahem. Blame my emo-ness on Evanescence. I listen to them WAY too much. I can't help it. They're so gooooooooooooood... -slapped-**

**Reviews?**


	4. Chapter 3: Dreams

**And here's Chapter Three already. The uploader thing is working once again, and I am taking full advantage of it. ARR.**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Three: Dreams**

"_I'll never understand why you insist upon fighting me, Lhikan." Anubis smiled, looking down upon the fallen Toa of Fire contemptuously. "All it does is bring you pain."_

_Lhikan grunted from his position on the floor. His wrists and ankles were shackled to a spinning wheel encircled by white-hot flames. He couldn't move. The flames kept getting closer and, in spite of himself, he knew that if they touched him, he would be in for a world of hurt. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. It would do him no good to panic right now. He had to think, and think fast and clearly if he was going to get out of this mess._

"_Look at you. Toa of Fire, and unable to save yourself from a little flame. You're pathetic, Lhikan. You couldn't even save your friends."_

_Lhikan's eyes snapped open. "What did you do to them?" he breathed, his fear evident in his voice._

_Anubis's smile grew wider. "I didn't do anything. But I WOULD worry about Hera's temper right about now. You see, she doesn't like the fact that your pretty Kaylani is, well, prettier than her. Oh yes, my Hera's a jealous one, she is. And of course, there's my good friend Typhon, who doesn't like little Natay's voice. I think destroying her means of communication was how he planned on dealing with her. Oh, and we mustn't forget Set and Hestia! I don't remember what they had planned for Shruikan and Kroova, but the way that Hestia was sharpening that javelin...well, I don't think they'll enjoy what she has planned for them."_

_He smiled even more as Lhikan threw himself against his bonds, the white flames finally coming into contact with his body. To the dark Toa's slight surprise, the Toa of Fire barely even flinched as they burned him._

"_You sick monster, I swear I'll kill you!" Lhikan roared. "Touch one part of them, and I'll kill you!"_

"_With what?" Anubis countered. "Face it, Lhikan. You're helpless. No powers, no weapons, no friends...you're all alone. Alone against me and my team."_

"_Slaves, more like it!" Lhikan spat. "You treat them like dirt, Anubis. They have no loyalty to you outside of fear. They are bound to you by the fear that you'll kill them. My team is loyal to me through friendship, and that's what's kept them with me this whole time."_

"_Oh my, the power of friendship." Anubis said dully, strolling around the spinning wheel Lhikan was tied to. "A load of good it's gotten you, I must say. Tied to a wheel, about to be killed by your own element...devoid of all means of escape...yes, I'd say it's gotten you somewhere."_

_He leaned forward and grabbed Lhikan's chin in his hand. The Toa of Fire stared back at him without a trace of fear whatsoever. "It's gotten you a one-way ticket to die!"_

"_You can't kill me." Lhikan snarled. "You're too cowardly. You need me, Anubis. Without me, you can't keep my team in order. I'm your hostage; they don't attack because they know if they do, you'll kill me. Kill me, and they WILL attack. And they won't hold back. Not like they have these past battles."_

_He lay there and didn't flinch when the Itami brought back a hand and clouted him hard. Anubis hit him again and shoved his face into his. "It's because of ME that the Itami do not kill your friends, insolent wretch!" he roared, striking him again. "If I ordered them to, they'd tear them apart! STOP LAUGHING!"_

_Lhikan's laughter rang out as his blood spattered on the ground._

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Vakama stood on the railing at the front of the ship, which Whenua had christened the _Liberator_, and scowled into the wind. The ship that the strange Toa that had taken Nokama had all but disappeared, but he was certain he knew where they were going. After all, where else could they go except Metru Nui? The ship had been small, barely large enough for a long voyage. And he was certain that the trip to Mata Nui and back was taking every last resource it had.

'_She belongs to me.'_

He shook his head to clear his head of the thought. No, Nokama DIDN'T belong to him, but still...she was his ally. But moreover, she was his FRIEND. As Whenua had said, what kind of friend would he be if he let them take her and didn't do anything about it? Not a friend at all, but a coward.

And he was done watching his friends be taken from him.

'_You can't abandon me...you belong to me.'_

"Vakama?"

He whirled around. It was Nuju. "What do you want, Nuju?"

Nuju smiled. "It's getting late, Vak," he said. "You should get some sleep. You've been up there for hours."

"I said I'd take first watch, and that's what I'm doing." Vakama snarled, turning away and looking back at the fog that coated the protodermis sea. If he were to continue looking at his friend, he knew he would do something he would regret. "I will not be made a liar."

"No one ever said you were." Nuju snapped, giving him the famous death-glare. "Besides, first watch is over. It's second watch now. I came to tell you that I will take over now."

Immediately, Vakama felt ashamed. "I'm sorry, Nuju." he said, hanging his head. "You came here to help me, and all I did was snap at you."

Nuju grinned. "You did a pretty good job of it. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were about to attack me."

Instead of making Vakama feel better like he'd intended, it only seemed to make him worse. The Toa of Fire stepped off the railing and made his way over to the cabin where Onewa's lusty snores could be heard through the door. He turned back to his icy brother and sighed. "Well...I...thanks, Nuju."

Nuju smiled. "No problem. Go get some sleep. You look exhausted."

Despite his initial desire to keep watching for the enemy ship and the uproarious snores of his teammates, Vakama found his space of floor where he was to sleep extremely comfortable. Before he could begin to think about his plan for when they caught up with these "Itami", he was asleep.

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"_Matau...Matau..."_

Matau whirled around, once, twice, three times. "Where are you?" he shouted into the thick blackness covering the area. "Why do you keep shout-calling me?"

This was seriously getting old. He knew he was dreaming again, and he was sick of dreaming of the same thing so many times. Why couldn't whoever it was that kept calling him reveal themselves already?

"_Matau..."_

There it was again!

"_Matau...my little one, my baby..."_

What?

"_My little Matau..."_

He wasn't little, not anymore! Maybe as a Matoran he had been little, but now he was a Toa-hero! Toa-heroes were big, ask anyone. So why was this voice calling him 'little'?

"_My little Toa-hero..."_ A hint of a smile was in the voice this time.

Whoa. Creepy. This...thing...knew what he was thinking.

"Show yourself!" he shouted.

And it did. So suddenly he didn't know when, a tall, stately green Toa stood in front of him. Belted around its waist was a long golden sword with a blood red pommel stone. To his shock, the pommel stone was pulsing, just like...

"Just like a heart..." he whispered, staring at it.

The green Toa smiled at him gently, almost like a mother, he noted. Almost immediately, he felt a calming peace steal over him. It felt like he was safe...jeez, he hadn't felt safe since he had been a Matoran. Who was this dream-thing that could make him feel safe just by looking at him? Not even Nokama made him feel like that. Actually, now that he thought about it, he only felt an excited desire when the Toa of Water was near, forget looking at him...

But this was unheard of. To make HIM, Matau, calm down that easily...it was creepy, that's what it was! He felt like tearing his mask off and stomping on it...but of course, that wouldn't do, he needed that mask.

The strange green Toa came forward, a gentle smile still on her face. She reached out a hand, and Matau felt it on his cheek.

"Who are you?" he breathed.

She smiled again. _"Do you know the answer to the same question about thyself?"_

He was taken back by this question, but puffed up his chest all the same. "Of course I do! I am Matau, fine-greatest Toa-hero ever known!"

She laughed then, a beautiful, melodious sound. _"Yes, yes..."_ she said, _"You know your name. Congratulations."_

Matau frowned. It seemed this dream had a sense of humor. Great.

She continued. _"But do you know your origin?"_

Once again, he was surprised. "No...but I don't suppose anyone does, do they?"

The Toa sighed. _"I know MY origin. Why don't you know thine?"_

"Should I know it?"

"_Yes, you should. You have an important origin, my little Matau...and an even more important destiny."_

He snorted. "And you think-know you know my origin?"

"_I do."_

"Well then, what is it?" _'This oughta be good...'_

She smiled again and shook her head, her once brightly shining body beginning to fade like mist. _"I can't tell you that right now. But...if you really wish to know, then look for me every night when you dream. I'll tell thee the story of our family."_

Matau's heart stopped. "Wait-stop...did you just say our FAMILY? Who are you?"

But she was already gone.

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"Agh!" Nokama was thrown unceremoniously down onto the ground by the Toa Itami known as Set. At least...she thought that was his name, that's what that one-handed Toa had called him, anyway.

He sneered down at her, running one finger along the blade of his broadsword. "Enjoy your stay with the Toa Itami, and good luck...you'll need it."

"I won't need luck," she said viciously, "Just give me back my hydro blades, and I'll show you the meaning of enjoyment."

He snorted and walked to the door. "I'm not going to tie you up, cuz well...there's no way you can beat us, but I AM lockin' the door. Sleep tight, little Toa."

"Wait! You can't just-" Too late. He had already slammed the door, and she heard the key turning in the lock. She slumped down on the floor next to the wall. Great. Just GREAT. She was weaponless, the captive of strange dark Toa with destructive powers, and she was also being locked up. The least they could've done was bring her some water...

She stood up and banged on the door. It was locked, and very strong, just like she had suspected. She sighed. "Of course they're not going to keep me in a room that's easy to break out of...I'm a hostage."

For what, she wished she knew. They seemed to think she had the Blade of Order, for some reason. Why? As far as she knew, it was a simple myth, a legend that had been lost for countless years. It wouldn't surprise her if the whole thing was a load of Kikanalo dung. Yet they thought she had it. It was almost laughable.

Nokama jumped as the door unlocked, another Toa stepping into the small cabin. This one looked over her and snorted at her ready-to-fight posture.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." It was a male, with violet, black, and red coloring. "I just thought you'd like some food." He set down a plate of dodgy-looking food and laughed at the look on Nokama's face. "Better get used to it, little girl, cuz that's the best we got right now. Be grateful Anubis has seen fit to keep you fed."

She glared at him. "You're the one that captured me."

He stared right back. "I am." They were both silent for a moment as both just stared at each other, neither wielding to the other.

"Where are you taking me?" Nokama ventured to ask.

To her surprise, the strange Toa answered. "Since you're gonna die anyway, I guess it's OK to tell you. You used to live on Metru Nui, yeah? That's where. But we're not there long. Soon as we've picked up some more supplies, we're settin' off again, and to who knows where. Happy?"

"Yes...thank you."

"You're welcome. Better eat that food 'fore it gets ruined. I'm Typhon, by the way. Typhon of Shadow."

Nokama looked at him strangely. "Why are you being nice to me?"

Typhon shrugged. "Cuz I feel like it. I'd suggest you not make me mad though – my niceness'll disappear real quick. You got it?"

The Toa of Water nodded, looking at the floor. "Yes."

The Toa of Shadow smiled. "Good." He walked to the door and left, locking it again as he did so.

Nokama sighed and poked the food on the plate with one finger. It looked like it could have been some kind of fish or something...on second thought...it might be better not to eat it.

She sighed and leaned against the wall. Mata Nui, how was she going to get out of this one?

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Vakama tossed and turned restlessly in his sleep. What...what was that? Red and yellow armor, yellow Hau mask, it was Lhikan!

"Lhikan! Toa Lhikan!" he shouted, running towards his old mentor. The former Toa of Fire turned and smiled at him. _"Finally, you're here."_ he said. Vakama hung his head.

"I've made a dreadful mistake, Toa Lhikan...I let Nokama-"

"_Yes, I know."_ Lhikan said before he could go on. _"Nokama was captured by the Toa Itami. I know, Vakama."_

"But what do I DO? I'm chasing them, but how do I defeat them? Just one hit was all it took for them to take me down."

To his surprise, Lhikan chuckled. _"So, you've met Anubis then, hm? I suppose it won't do you much good to know that's not his full power either. But he CAN be defeated, Vakama."_

"Yes, but HOW? We're not strong enough, and-"

Once again, Lhikan interrupted him. _"You will have help from an old friend of mine...I am of the opinion that she will be more than willing to help you. It's been too long since she's had a good adventure."_

At this, Vakama perked up. "Who is it? Who's this friend of yours? How will she help us? How-"

"_Hush!"_ Lhikan said, laughing. _"She will help you in any way she can, and you'll be pleased to hear that she is very powerful. Having her will improve your chances of success greatly."_

"But where will I find her?"

Lhikan's eyes twinkled mysteriously as he began to disappear. _"Look for the omniscient voice on the island home where the ocean's tears were dried."_

Vakama blanched. "But that's no help at all!" he shouted. But Lhikan had vanished, all except for his voice.

"_Look for the omniscient voice on the island home where the ocean's tears were dried."_

And then Vakama was alone once more.

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Lhikan felt a touch on his shoulder and turned around, smiling. _"Did your mission go well?"_

The strange green Toa smiled back. _"Yes it did. And yours?"_

"_It went as well as I could have expected. He blames himself for what happened, just like he blames himself for every other bad thing that goes on in his life."_

She laughed. _"Yes, he does seem to do that, doesn't he? Don't worry about him Lhikan – he's young, he'll grow out of it someday."_

"_Yes, I know he will...I only hope it will be sooner than later. Or at least soon enough to rescue Nokama."_

She touched his shoulder again. _"Thou art a strong and courageous Toa, young Lhikan. But you must learn that ye can't baby him forever. He must grow up on his own."_ She disappeared, replaced with a glowing ball of green energy. _"But I know that he will. After all, he had the best of mentors to guide him."_ The ball took off into the air, leaving a glowing green trail behind it.

Lhikan bowed and his essence began to fade.

"_I thank you, Mother Toa."_

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**Featured Song: "Surrender" by Evanescence.**

**AN: So we finally find something out about the weird person who's been calling Matau's name in his dreams...as well that not ALL the Toa Itami are A-holes all the time and that Lhikan views Vakama somewhat as his son. And that you don't mess with Nuju's death-glare. It could be hazardous to your health. I'm going to try to do stuff in this format from now on; with at least one passage about each important event that's going on at the time and a passage at the beginning about a flashback type-thing. Jeez, I need a life if I spend this much time and effort on a fanfic. Well, review please, I'd really appreciate it.**

**PS: I'm currently open to suggestions about anything. If you have one, I'd be more than happy to hear it. :)**


	5. Chapter 4: Sidekick

**Welcome to Chapter Four of The Painmaker! I got a lot of great feedback and such from all of you, and I just wanna say thanks. And thanks to Whale Shark for his suggestions as well. You rock, man. Well, on with the show!**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Four: Sidekick**

"_You shouldn't blame yourself." Kaylani murmured, placing a hand on Lhikan's shoulder. "It's not your fault."_

_He looked at her with eyes so full of regret and despair she could have cried just seeing it._

"_But it is." he said mournfully. "I've failed you, Kaylani...you and everyone else. I'm not fit to be a Toa, much less lead a team of them."_

"_Stop that." she reprimanded. "The minute you start having doubts is the minute that Anubis will have truly beaten you. You have to keep believing, Lhikan...please." She couldn't believe Lhikan, HER Lhikan was just giving up like this._

"_I can't anymore." He took a deep breath to calm his trembling body and looked at her again._

"_I can't believe in myself anymore."_

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Hera strolled into the cabin where Nokama was being kept and for a minute, just stared at the sleeping Toa of Water. Deep blue armor, transparent-type mask of translation, and big blue eyes...she was so much like Kaylani, it wasn't even funny. She growled. She remembered in full how the male Toa Itami (with the exception of Anubis, of course) had all admired the Toa Mahi of Water for her grace and beauty. It had made her burn with jealousy then, and now was no different.

The only difference was that Anubis had ordered that Nokama was not to be harmed in any way, shape, or form. He had made a point of singling Hera out as well, which only made her even angrier. Why did all these hero female Toa have to be so...pretty, while she and Hestia suffered the humiliation of not being such? It just wasn't fair.

To her slight surprise, Nokama rolled over in her sleep, mumbling something. She listened hard. The words came out in a broken stream.

"Chief...tall green...believe...Vaka...love you...Kikanalo..."

Hera blinked. Whata-whata-what? Tall green? Vaka? What were they supposed to be? Love you? She grinned. So the little Toa had someone she was pining after then, eh? It might be useful information...in a way. She had no clue how, but you never know.

They were close to Metru Nui now. It had been almost another three days, which was the length of time it had taken them to get from Metru Nui to that little out-of-the-way island, Mata Nui. She couldn't wait, she was starting to get sick of the cramped quarters and clumsy male Toa getting underfoot.

Deciding she had seen enough, she left, quietly closing the door behind her as she did so.

And as she did so, Nokama stirred in her sleep.

But she did not wake.

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"Where's Red?" Onewa asked, strolling up to Nuju. The Toa of Ice shrugged nonchalantly.

"Probably in the cabin, still asleep." he replied, not taking his eyes off the churning ocean.

"Still?" Onewa asked incredulously. "Jeez, he must've slept for over ten hours by now."

Nuju laughed. "At least he's not awake and bringing down everyone else's mood by brooding around the ship, sighing and talking to himself, like he's been doing."

"True." Onewa conceded, then sighed. "What is it?" Nuju asked, concerned. He'd never seen the Toa of Stone so...down-looking before.

"Do you honestly think we can win this one, Nuju?" Onewa asked, looking at him seriously. "Four-on-four we were at a stalemate, and it wasn't gonna last. They were strong, I'll give 'em that." He was silent for a minute, gazing out at the water. He wasn't about to admit it, but he was getting seasick...and fast. It had been gradually getting worse every day. If it kept up, there'd be some nasty business going down, and he for one didn't want to have to clean up any messes.

"Don't worry about it." Nuju smiled, as though he had guessed what was going on in Onewa's mind. "Now that we know how they work, we'll be better prepared for our next encounter. Last time we were taken by surprise, but this time, WE'LL be the ones doing the surprising. Alright?"

In spite of himself, Onewa grinned, forgetting his churning stomach for a minute. "Sounds good," he said. "But I get dibs on the one with the javelin."

"In that case..." Nuju trailed off, looking thoughtful.

"What?"

"I get the one with the hammer. No one, and I mean that with all possible sincerity, does THIS to my weapon."

Onewa almost burst out laughing at the sight. The crystal spike was almost completely bent in half, probably from the force of the hammer's blows. He doubled over in an attempt to not laugh, but didn't miss the death-glare his companion sent his way.

"It's not funny. Where will I get a new spike?"

"I dunno what you're talkin' 'bout, man, that is HILARIOUS! Darn..." He shook his head, a wide grin still in place.

Nuju's glare, if possible, got deadlier. "If that...THING...could do this to my spike, what makes you think that little javelin wielder couldn't do the same to your piton?"

Onewa's eyes widened before narrowing dramatically. "OK, that's where this conversation's endin'. If she so much as THOUGHT 'bout touchin' this thing, I'd show 'er the real meanin' of pain!"

It was Nuju's turn to grin. "So I'm guessing this quest means more to you than you say."

Onewa turned grim. "Of course it does. Nokama's like my real sister, blood connections be damned. And I'm gonna help Vakama get 'er back."

"So no glory plans for you then, huh?"

The Toa of Stone shook his head. "That's Red's duty t'save the lady an' win 'er heart. I'm just his sidekick."

"Mata Nui forbid you'd ever submit to being anyone's sidekick. The day you become a sidekick, I will admit that Whenua has been right all along about the past being better than the future."

"I am Vakama's sidekick."

"Whenua was – hey, that's not fair!" Nuju exclaimed, glaring at his companion. "You weren't supposed to actually do it!"

Onewa's grin had returned in full. "Jus' goes ta show there's a lot 'bout me you people don't know." He yawned, stretching his arms over his head. "Well, I'm beat. You done with your watch yet?"

Nuju glanced up at the sky. "Hm, yes I am. Will you be taking third watch?"

The Toa of Stone shrugged. "Sure. Beats listenin' to Vak and Matau talk in their sleep 'bout omniscient voices and origins."

Nuju suddenly found he was exhausted. Barely stifling a huge yawn, he staggered off towards the sleeping quarters and turned around.

"When it's about noon, I'll send Matau for fourth watch. Good night, Onewa."

"Night, scholar."

Nuju glared sleepily at him before shutting the door and flopping down on his mat and falling asleep immediately.

Onewa chuckled softly and looked out to the ocean.

'_Nokama...'_ he thought. _'Wherever you are, you better be safe, you little troublemaker. Cuz it's gonna be me who'll hafta put up with Red and Matau if you're not.'_

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"_Matau..."_

He turned around expectantly. "Are you ready to speak-tell me about my origins, lady-Toa?"

The green ghost chuckled. _"Indeed I am...part of it, anyway. I am about to impart to you the first part of our story, my little one...please remember it well."_

He bowed. "Of course I will. Now please hurry!"

"_Patience is a virtue."_ the ghost observed. _"But for thy sake I will."_ She sat down on the pitch-black ground, motioning for him to do so as well. He did and leaned forward expectantly, obviously very eager to hear it.

She smiled. He was so much like her son...

"_It all began on the first day of the Year of the Discord, many millennia ago..."_

Matau listened in awe as her voice flowed over him in a steady stream. And he began to understand the background of the beings now known as "Toa".

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**Featured Song: "Spread Your Wings" – Black Label Society**

**AN: So...howzat? I dunno, I tried to make it a bit shorter, following the "Leave 'em wanting more" policy passed on by –bleeped out by request of suggester- XD I also tried to lessen the...uh...bloodshed. In fact, there was none in this chapter. This one was a little pointless, but meh, I think it's OK. Onewa seems a little outta character to me, I can never seem to get him right! –pulls hair out-**

**And one more thing: I won't be able to get online as much, due to the fact that my summer school schedule runs from 8:30 AM to 5:10 PM Monday – Friday. It sucks, I tell you. My arms are sore from the FOUR FREAKIN' HOURS of PE they made us do at the ropes course, climbing hundred foot tall trees, going across rope monkey bars, climbing suspended wooden logs with climbing rocks on them...my God, we're not military trainees! Four hours of class, then four hours of PE, with lunch in between. And they lock our dorms too, so we can't go back to our rooms and get stuff, leaving me iPod-less all day :( And the boys (whose rooms are above us girls') skateboard IN THEIR ROOMS all night long...so it's hard to sleep at night. –bangs head on wall- Right above me on my bunk bed is written "YO PAT I'M GAY." I have absolutely no idea who wrote that, but I also have absolutely no desire to know.**

**Lol. Well, whatever. Hope you all liked the chapter, and please review!**


	6. Chapter 5: Duty Calls

**Traffic. traffic. It pains me so to know that my request to submit a document cannot be completed because of heavy traffic. All that's missing are the angry truck drivers and businessmen (including my dad) in expensive luxury cars all swearing at each other.**

**And yes Shark, the preferred term is "hero support" XD But Onewa doesn't care about preferred terms. Blame my emo-ness on that. Of course, Onewa don't know about emo, he's straight up GANGSTA.**

**...ahem.**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Five: Duty Calls**

"_Is that your real call-name?" Nidhiki asked, looking at his companion curiously. She glanced at him and shrugged._

"_Nope." she said. "I just don't like my real name, so I shortened it a bit."_

"_What's your real one?"_

Natay looked a little embarrassed. "It's rather embarrassing. I'd rather not tell you."

_His eyes sparkled mischievously. "Tell me! It can't be THAT bad-dark."_

_She sighed. "Oh, fine. It's...well..."_

"_I'm waiting."_

"_Shut up. OK, OK, it's Natareda. There. Happy?"_

_He stared at her for minute. "What?" she asked._

"_Why do you try to dark-hide such a beautiful name?" he asked._

_She stared back. "It's not a beautiful name. It means 'Deep Silence', which has nothing to do with me or the way I am. I can't believe it's my name."_

"_You should be happy-proud of your call-name, Natareda." he said quietly. "I for one think it's beautiful. Almost as much as its carry-owner."_

_Natay blushed hard. "You...you think it's that great?" she asked, her masked flushed dark red. He smiled and nodded. "Yes. You shouldn't hide your call-name. The true-meaning may not be something you love-like, but the name itself is justifying." His eyes misted over and he looked her in the eye._

"_I hope-wish I had a call-name as pretty as yours."_

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"Oof!" Nokama wheezed as Hera kicked her in the side. She sat up painfully, glaring at the cruel Toa. Hera sneered back. "Wake up, prisoner. We've got news for you." Next to her, Typhon shifted uncomfortably.

"We have almost arrived at Metru Nui," he said finally. "So we can make sure you don't escape, you will be coming with us to gather supplies and the like."

She nodded, not looking at him or Hera. He smiled slightly and left, Hera at his heels.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked incredulously once the door was shut. "You baby that girl like none other! Am I to believe that you've gone soft, Typhon?"

He shrugged, not looking at her. "She's not a bad person, Hera. She's actually been a model prisoner, not making any trouble or anything. What's wrong with being kind to her?"

She shoved him hard up against the wall, banging his head on it. He looked at her as she brandished her axe under his nose. "I'll tell you what's wrong with it," she snarled, "She's the ENEMY. You don't be kind to the enemy, you kill them!"

He laughed derisively. "Yeah, but Anubis has ordered for her safety at all times. You broke that rule by kicking her, Hera."

She clouted him, hard. "I don't care," she said, "All I care about is that YOU stop babying her and START acting like the Toa Itami you are! Toa Itami don't fall in love, Typhon! Toa Itami don't show kindness! Toa Itami don't sympathize! Toa Itami destroy, maim, and kill! And I won't have you ruining our mission by getting cozy with our only prisoner!"

He shoved her off of himself and glared angrily at her. "Shove off. I'll 'get cozy' with whomever I please, Hera. And nothing you do or say can stop me." With another glare, he turned and stomped off, his large feet making clop-clop noises on the wood of the deck.

Hera swore under her breath, glaring daggers at his retreating back. Why that impudent little prick! How dare he! It was against protocol, ANY protocol, to fraternize with the enemy, yet he did it anyway. She sighed angrily, banging her hand against the wall. She regretted it instantly as a sharp splinter jabbed into her and pried it out with a growl.

"Having problems?" She didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"No, Anubis. I am just...frustrated."

Anubis touched her shoulder in a way that, to the untrained eye, would be seen as a friendly gesture, but was actually so hard that she was hard put to not cry out. He whirled her around to face him, eyes burning madly.

"What is wrong? Tell me now."

A sudden shout from the crow's nest distracted them. They both looked up to see Hestia shouting down at them. Anubis's eyes shone hungrily.

"LAND!"

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The orange being watched its prey through half-lidded eyes, deciding the best moment to strike. The stray Visorak was no match for her, but heck if she was going to let one of those evil things run rampant in HER city. The spider stopped, its pincers clamping onto some helpless little rodent. The rodent squeaked painfully as it disappeared down the Visorak's throat.

And the orange being struck.

The business end of a chain sickle thudded into its back so quickly it didn't have any time to cry out in pain. It slumped to the ground, its once bright red eyes dimming to black. The orange being smiled triumphantly, her eyes glittering with the same madness that was often seen upon the face of the more feral Rahi beasts. Then the madness left her completely, and she smiled with such sereneness, one might wonder if the earlier primality had even been there at all.

Her ears swiveled around to the sound of voices. Familiar voices. Strangely familiar voices...

She ducked low once more as a pair of feet passed the shrub she was hiding in, grimacing at the stench of evil that all of a sudden seemed to hang in the air. The voices spoke again, and this time, she could hear what they were saying.

"She's heavy." A groan.

"So why'd you offer to carry her?"

"Because I'm the one in charge of her."

"So?"

"Shut up, Set. Why don't YOU try carrying this thing and see how it feels?"

"Fine then, I will." Shuffling and rustling.

The orange creature stiffened. Set! She knew that name. It took all her willpower not to growl with rage. He was one of the six who had...

There was no time. If the Itami had returned, then there was going to be trouble, she would bet her life on it. And there was no sign of GOOD Toa to fight them. One against six wasn't good odds, especially when it had only taken one of them to defeat you before. She gave a small, almost inaudible sigh.

This just wasn't her day.

Standing up straight now that they were gone, she stretched her body as far as it would go, reveling in the relief it brought the pain from sitting cramped up in a bush for the last two hours. Then, snorting like a Kane-Ra, she took off after them, silent as the wind.

Even though silence was not her forte.

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"_It all began on the first day of the Year of the Discord. At the time, I was a simple Gukko trainer, nothing more, nothing less. Metru Nui was not as it is today, there were no chutes, new masks were hard to come by, and each Metru was constantly in strife with the other. There was no true ruler of the island, no unifying force. But all the seers of Ko-Metru had predicted a great disaster in the upcoming year. Naturally, no one believed them...until it happened. A tidal wave struck Ga-Metru, destroying many buildings and many lives. Trees in Le-Metru began to wither and die overnight, the forge volcano erupted, Knowledge Towers collapses, earthquakes devastated the Archives, and horrible rock slides in Po-Metru became more and more common. The Rahi, once friendly to us, became wild and uncontrollable, attacking us more and more until we were forced to take action against them. Many Matoran and Rahi were killed in the resulting war. But the real war was yet to come._

"_Soon, it became clear what was causing all the strife and discord. A group of...monsters, if you will, was causing everything to happen, and they were virtually undefeatable. Matoran died by the dozen trying to fight them. The leader, wielding the power of chaos, had enslaved the five others, forcing them to do his will, but the fact remains that they did their job well._

"_I was assigned the job of training the Gukko force to be more efficient aerial fighters, but even with that, the chaos monster and its team continued to have the upper hand. And then one night, something happened."_

Matau leaned forward eagerly, impatiently awaiting the ghost's narrative continuation. She smiled at him. He really was so much like her son...

"_I dreamt of a shining silver stone, bright as the suns. It broke apart, and the largest part, glowing green, was all that remained. Etched into its interior was my name. I knew what I had to do."_

"And what was that, Toa-lady?" Matau asked, now more interested than ever. That shining silver stone sounded suspiciously like...

"_I worked for several months in severe secrecy to create a likeness of this stone. Only the most powerful of Kanoka disks, and the most pure of protodermis were used in its making. I even took the precaution of etching my name into its interior. And then, finally, it was done. And then I touched it."_

She stopped speaking and closed her eyes. Matau felt as if a very bright light had just been switched off.

"And then?"

She opened her eyes again. _"There is no time for me to complete the story-tale now, my little one. I am sorry, but that is the way it must be. This is not a tale to be shortened and squandered. It is thy history, after all."_

He sighed impatiently. "When can I listen-hear the rest of it, Toa-lady?"

The ghost smiled, fading in the way that she did when he knew she was about to leave again. _"Look for me each night when you close your eyes. I will come to thee then, and tell you a part of it every night."_

She vanished without a trace.

"LAND!"

Matau was jerked awake by Onewa's shout, rolling right into a sleeping Nuju. He let go immediately as the white Toa began to radiate cold like a snowstorm. Nuju's eyes snapped open and he gave his teammate a death-glare.

"Never. Do. That. Again."

Vakama sat up, eyes snapping open, and ran to the door just as Onewa opened it. The Toa of Stone grinned with anticipation. "We're here!" he announced.

Vakama ignored him and ran past him to the steering cabin where Whenua was at the wheel. "How close are we?" he demanded. The Toa of Earth gave him a tired smile. "Pretty close, I'd say. Only about...half an hour more at the most to get there."

The Toa of Fire's eyes burned. "Soon, Nokama..." he muttered, loud enough for Whenua to hear, "soon I can save you..."

Involuntarily, Whenua shivered.

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Nokama looked about half fearfully and half wonderingly at her old city of Ga-Metru. It hadn't changed much, with the exception of the fact that it was still in pretty bad disrepair from the recent Visorak attacks.

Slung over Set's shoulder, she glanced from side to side, her eyes sliding over each Toa Itami she saw. The cruel female, Hera, gave her such a look that she immediately diverted her gaze to the one beside her, Osiris, she thought his name was. Toa of...Death, and fairly stupid, but a good navigator, apparently. He had gotten them to Metru Nui in no less than three days. That wasn't easy.

The next one, Hestia. She knew next to nothing about the Toa of Nightmare, except the fact that she wielded a javelin like a professional. Then Typhon. He looked over at her and smiled slightly as he noticed her gaze on him. He was a puzzle, she decided. He claimed to be a hardcore murderer, an evil being capable of anything, yet he was constantly more than kind to her.

Then there was Set, the one who has carrying her. He was a sly one, his taunts were so irresistible that it was almost impossible to ignore them. He was the group's muscle, as far as Nokama could tell. And then there was Anubis. That one needed no explaining. He was the reason she was there in the first place. He strode ahead of the group, silent as the grave.

Her eyes darted to the side as a flash of orange sped by. Or was it just Set's arm? She couldn't tell. Inhaling deep against the gag across her mouth, she slumped down once more and closed her eyes.

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The orange creature snarled as she realized what the Itami were carrying: a blue Toa, presumably of the element Water. It was unthinkable! Kidnappers...she hated them even more just at the thought of them being such.

"_Power screamer..."_ She almost jumped at the sound of the voice, but then calmed down. She knew that voice. It spoke to her often, and she to it.

"Yes?" she replied, a slight smile on her face. Her old friend continued, and she could feel his relief. For what, she didn't know, and also didn't care.

"_I need your help. Or rather, my friends do. A friend and teammate of theirs was captured."_

"By the Itami." she nodded. "I know."

"_I need you to help them. You know the Itami better than any living creature, you'll be of the best help to them."_

She chuckled softly, looking down at her mutated body.

"If you say so. When do I start?"

"_They are almost here. Go to the Ga-Metru bay and find them when they arrive. Although..."_

"Yes?"

"_They might be a little...shocked by your appearance. They once looked as you do, and it might be...strange for them to encounter you."_

She laughed heartily. "All creatures who look upon me feel that way, Lhikan. It means nothing to me now."

"_...I wish I could say good, but I know what it did to you. What it STILL does to you. I wish I-"_

"It wasn't your fault," she interrupted him. "It was mine for being so foolhardy and stubborn as to do what I did without expecting consequences such as what I got. I got what I deserved for being stupid. It's not your fault."

Silence.

"_Maybe so. I just..."_ He sighed. _"Never mind. Just...do me this one last favor and help them, will you?"_

She smiled. "Who am I to refuse such a request from my leader? You saved my life, Lhikan. And when I became...what I am, you gave me a home, far from the eyes of any who would hate me for my appearance. You've done more than enough for me. I'd be ashamed if I were to refuse."

Once again, she could almost feel Lhikan's relief. Only this time, happiness was mixed in with it.

"_I thank you...my old friend."_

"And I you. Besides..." She grinned, the light of madness returning to her bright yellow eyes. "I've been waiting for my next great adventure. There hasn't been a good one since the Dark Hunter war."

"_Hm. I wouldn't call that one good, seeing as how it ended, but I suppose you have a point. Goodbye, Natay."_

"Goodbye, Lhikan."

Natay smiled and stretched once more. Her next great adventure awaited, and she wasn't about to miss it. Setting off, she sped towards the Ga-Metru beach.

It was good to be back on duty again.

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**Featured Song: "The Mercenary" – Iron Maiden**

**AN: So yeah, that was a little rushed. BUT my good friend Miss-Metal-or-Zakia is coming to Tahoe this weekend, so I'm happy! The problem is meeting her...the school I'm at keeps changing the schedule lol XD But I'm doing my best to work something out.**

**Anyway, I almost died at Donner Summit...rock climbing for PE, and I slipped and fell about ten feet before the retard who was belaying me caught me. I was scared, but at the same time, it was REALLY fun.**

**And yes, Natay is back...any guess as to what happened to her?**

**Reviews:3**


	7. Chapter 6: Heart Shaped

**Sentimentality...ugh. My roommate was playing the song "Heaven 9/11 Remix" by DJ Sammy, and it...uh...yeah, it inspired me somewhat. My God, that song makes me cry, it's so sad. It's basically a little girl talking to her dad, who was killed during the attack on the World Trade Center. I started crying while listening to it. It's THAT sad. Of course, I cried during Click lol so I guess it's OK.**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Six: Heart-Shaped**

"_Why are you so happy-glad, water-sister?"_

_She turned huge blue eyes on him, huge beautiful sapphire orbs that held every good and precious thing in their depths. Behind her, Terios smiled knowingly._

"_It's nothing...just I've realized how I feel for someone."_

_His body stiffened in anticipation. "Who is it?" he asked, eagerly awaiting the answer, hoping, no, praying it would be him..._

_Her eyes sparkled and a faint blush stained her cheeks. Terios chuckled._

"_You'll probably think I'm just a silly little Matoran with a crush, but...well..."_

"_Just say-tell me, would you?"_

_She laughed then, such a pretty sound..._

"_It's Lhikan. Oh, Nidhiki, I'm so happy!"_

_Silence._

"_...Nidhiki? Are you alright?" Terios asked, concerned._

_More silence._

"_Nidhiki?" She sounded worried. Which was not what he needed at all._

"_...I have to go-leave. Goodbye."_

"_Wait! Where are you going? Nidhiki, come back! Nidhiki!"_

_But he didn't come back._

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Natay watched nonchalantly as the small boat approached the Ga-Metru shore and promptly beached itself like a small whale. She sighed. Some Toa, couldn't even steer a boat. This was going to be a lot harder than she had anticipated. First off, she had expected perfection like what she had seen in her own team. These bozos couldn't even steer a little BOAT right.

A red figure she took to be the leader jumped off the deck and landed on his feet in the sand. She snorted, slightly impressed. She'd half expected him to land on his butt.

"Matau, wouldju stop foolin' around an' 'elp me lift this box?" a voice snapped from the deck where she couldn't see.

"Oh, sure-fine," another voice said, "Let me just quit-stop what I'm doing to help the mighty-great Onewa with what HE'S doing!"

BANG. A yelp of pain and sounds of a slight scuffle.

Natay gave an aggravated growl. Children. That's what these were, children with no sense whatsoever. Mata Nui, what had she done to deserve this?

And...another bang, which made the red Toa turn around and shout something angrily up at the boat, where a white Toa stood, his hand on his forehead, and a black Toa watched the scuffle with an amused grin on his face. This wouldn't do. Proper Toa didn't squabble among themselves like this, they did a little something called WORKING TOGETHER. It was obvious that Natay was going to have her work cut out for her.

Finally, the white Toa seemed to have had enough and promptly seized both offenders and hurled them onshore next to the red Toa, who was scowling.

"Do you mind?" the white Toa (presumably representing the element of ice) snapped as the black Toa jumped down next to him. "We are on a serious mission, NOT a game!"

Hm. Maybe some of these goofballs had some sense after all...

Enough with just watching. She decided to test them out. Drawing her weapon, she struck.

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Set plonked his cargo down on the ground next to a storehouse in Ga-Metru and patted her head. "Keep good watch!" he grinned and turned to follow his teammates into the building. Nokama saw Typhon grimace at her before he too vanished. She gave a sad sigh. This just wasn't her day...or week, for that matter. She didn't have the fragging Blade of Order, so why did they keep insisting she did? It made no sense. One thing she always taught to her classes was to make sure something made sense before testing it out or deciding it was real. These Toa Itami did nothing of the sort. Once something was decided, it was decided, and that was that.

She looked down at herself, to the pendant hanging around her neck, and sighed. Some Toa she was. So far, she'd managed to get knocked out, captured, and humiliated by these people, and she hadn't been able to do a thing. Why did her life suck so bad?

Her eyes traced the heart-shaped pendant slowly. Made of some golden metal and a red jewel, she loved it more than anything. She never went anywhere without it. Although...no one knew where it had come from, and she had never told them, not even when they asked. The only one who knew was the one who had given it to her...and indeed, the one who had made it.

Such a strange gift, even for him. She would have thought maybe a shiny basalt rock he had happened to find around his forge, or maybe even a mask, but never this. Although she wouldn't admit it, she had been overjoyed to receive it. And...she also didn't know what it meant. Being that it was a heart, anyone else would have thought, "LOVE!" but she hadn't been sure...as far as she knew, his feelings for her were nothing more than that which best friends share. That of brother and sister.

She liked him...no, she didn't. She wasn't going to have feelings for someone who didn't return them. When he had asked her to meet him by the pier, she had felt her heart skip a beat, felt the excitement and hope rise within her, but it had all been for nothing. His exact words were, "For sometime now, I've been having these-" before being cut off by the Itami's attack. It was obvious what he had been about to say. Visions. They ruled his mind, his very way of life. He was about to tell her about a new vision, probably about the Itami. So all her hope had been for nothing. It didn't matter anyway, because she didn't like him THAT way.

So why did it hurt so bad?

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Typhon glanced out the window of the storehouse at the prisoner. She was now looking down at the red-jeweled pendant around her neck. He wondered where she had gotten it, but he hadn't asked. Some things were better left unasked. She looked so sad...

Yeah, Typhon the Fearmaker, that was him. Toa of Shadow, and showing kindness to a prisoner. He saw no reason not to, after all, she WAS about to die, and she HAD been a good girl...no escape attempts or anything. And she had actually talked to him, told him her name, asked his, showed him some respect and politeness...it was...intoxicating, being respected. The only one any respect was ever shown to around here was Anubis, and of course the leader of the Toa Itami wasn't about to show respect for someone of lower order than himself. Heck, he hadn't even shown respect for the ones who had defeated him and PROVED they were higher than him.

Hera heard Typhon's little sigh and frowned. There he goes again, making doe eyes at a little girl of a Toa with nothing to help her against her enemies. It was disgraceful, that's what it was. And yet, Anubis did NOTHING about it. On the way there, she had complained in full about what was going on, but all the male Toa had done was to nod slightly and look like he was off in Lalaland. She was seriously beginning to hate this Nokama chick. And she couldn't even take anything out on her without punishment either! It just wasn't right, by the Great Spirit!

She shoved another fruit into her pack and growled. Well, at least they had gathered about enough to feed them – and the prisoner – for the remainder of the trip until they got to that little rock that had Mt. Valamai on it.

Watching Set place the prisoner over his shoulder, her eyes fell on the pendant.

Nokama was completely unprepared when the white, green, and black Toa's hand reached out and caught hold of her necklace. "Hey!" she shouted, "Let go!"

Hera sneered at her. "Or what? You'll beat me up with your puny little powers? Face it, little girl – you're helpless."

"Hera..." Set warned, glowering at her. She scowled back. Dropping the pendant, she turned on her heel and marched after Anubis.

Oh, how she hated that little Toa girl.

Set watched her leave and handed Nokama over to Typhon, who seemed relieved both to have her back and to see that Hera hadn't caused a scene. Shouldering both her and his pack, he set off after his team.

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Vakama barely had enough time to react when the chain sickle came hurtling in his direction, but he managed to leap back, drawing his disk launcher as he did so.

"Are you alright?" Whenua asked, running up to him and eyeing the weapon stuck into the sand. Vakama nodded slowly, looking at it as well. The other four Toa Metru ran to them and each drew his weapon. But then they stopped at the mocking laughter that rang out.

Vakama's eyes widened in shock and horror.

Standing right there on the beach, clear as day, was something he had never wanted to see again.

A Toa Hordika.

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**Featured song: "Texas Cries" – Element Eighty**

**AN: Sorry for the bad chapter, but I'm so exhausted right now, it's not even funny. We had to take a six mile ALL UPHILL hike to High Camp at the mountain today, in 90 degree weather, and I was dying. I honestly want to shoot whose ever idea that was. At least we got to ride the cable car down, but...my God...are they trying to kill us? It was fun watching my friend Eri (who got here LATE last night, she got in trouble at home so has to do six weeks of summer school too, ha) do triple axels and the like on the ice skating rink. The girl is the ultimate winter sports enthusiast, she beats me by MILES...then after we got back and ate dinner, we had to learn to BELLY DANCE. My roommates had to drag me onto the "dance floor" (which was actually the cafeteria) and make me dance. Excuse me if I don't want to learn how to dance like a Turkish prostitute. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to handle all this stress, so if I have a mental breakdown or something, please excuse me. Oh God...somebody throw me a steak or something, I'm STARVING. No scratch that, I want French toast! AHH! -weeps-**

**Reviews, please...?**

**Oh yeah, Nokama's pendant will be explained later...my roommate gave me a REALLY good idea about that, and I decided to use it. It concerns the heart – no duh – and I just hope it's plausible...not to mention possible. Whatever. I'm going to sleep now. -curls up in a ball on the floor-**


	8. Chapter 7: Pain

**It's official: I hate rap music. HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT. That's ALL they play in the room next door to mine, and it drives me CRAZY. Afroman, 50 Cent, Ice Cube, Xzibit all effin' day long. Some rap is good. The rap that's NOT about the million different ways to have sex, how many guys you've killed, or drugs. Which, sadly, is almost none. Stupid -bleep-s.**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Seven: Pain**

"_Is this the end?"_

"_No. It's not."_

"_How do you know? How can you possibly know?"_

"_I just do."_

"_I don't even know who you are. Let me die in peace."_

"_There will be no dying today, Toa of Stone. You will live to fight again."_

_Vastor was silent a minute. He was dying, and he knew it. So how could this Toa-wraith dare to say he wasn't? It was there, clear as sunlight, the wound in his stomach. Made by a Toa Itami. The screams of his best friend were fading, and he was too._

_But then, a golden warmth began to spread through his body. He could feel his pain easing, leaving. The light was becoming brighter. Raura's face was becoming sharp, clear once more. Her eyes were bright with tears and with a cry of relief she threw herself on him and hugged him._

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Typhon gently set Nokama down on the floor, and then sat facing her. She tried to glare at him, but found she was simply too tired and closed her eyes. To her annoyance, the Toa of Shadow didn't speak, just merely sat there, most likely staring at her.

She had almost fallen asleep when he finally spoke.

"What's that necklace of yours?"

She opened her eyes and smiled, her hand creeping up to the heart-shaped pendant. "It's my most treasured possession," she murmured, her eyes drifting closed again. "Someone very special gave it to me a long time ago."

For some reason, Typhon felt his throat clog. "Sp...special?" he asked, feeling sick.

She nodded. "Yes. I don't know why, really, but...I was glad to receive it."

"A Ta-Matoran?" His voice was a lot softer than she had ever heard it.

Her eyes opened. "Yes." she frowned. "How did you know that?"

He shrugged, looking at the floor. "Just a guess."

Nokama shivered slightly. It was cold in her prison, and there were no blankets or anything for her to use for warmth. Once again, she found herself wishing for Vakama's presence, like she had for the past four days. Being the Toa of Fire, he was very warm, like a stone that's been lying out in the sun for a few hours. She had found, on more than one occasion, that using him as a source of body heat at night wasn't such a bad idea. Of course, he had probably thought of that just as the sharing of body heat, which was a smart idea in cold temperatures. Heck, he had curled up against Onewa once, even though the Toa of Stone had protested volubly, despite a fierce cold he was going through at the time.

The truth was, she had known all along that she was going to be drawn to Vakama. Somewhere along the way of their first real mission, the search for the Great Disks, she had found herself thinking of him in a different way than to the others, despite Matau's obvious advances. Then had come the fight with the Morbuzakh king root, and he had been so heroic, doing his best to take down the evil that was permeating the city. She had been impressed, very impressed...and then had come the fight with the shape-shifting Krahka. Even though he had believed she was trying to kill him, he had merely weakened her and then begged her not to make it any harder than it had to be. If that wasn't a sign of some devotion, she didn't know what was...

She opened her eyes as she felt something press down against her stomach and a body uncomfortably close to her. It was Typhon's hand. She sat up nervously. "What are you-"

"Relax, you look cold so I'm sharing body heat. I happen to have a lot of heat in reserves. Unless you'd prefer to be cold, that is." He wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Nokama found that she was too tired to care. Resting her head gingerly against his shoulder, she drifted off into sleep.

Once he was sure she was asleep, Typhon carefully shifted so her head was in his lap. He stared down at her and sighed.

This mission was going to be harder than he thought.

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"I must say..." the Hordika said, grinning, "the standards for Toa these days have lowered a bit. You just barely dodged that." She moved forward with a slow, easy grace that defied her twisted body. "In my day, that was child's play to evade." Her bright orange armor gleamed in the light of the setting sun.

"Who tha frag're YOU?" Onewa asked rudely, stepping in front of Vakama.

She smiled, although the mad light in her eyes nearly made him shudder. Nearly.

"Language, Toa," she said, flexing her front limbs. "Learn respect for your betters."

"I'll show you better!" Onewa shouted, running at her, proto-piton swinging. The Hordika moved with such speed he didn't see her jump. Her clawed feet hit him straight in the back, sending him flying into the sand of the beach. She landed on his back, tutting loudly.

"Tsk, tsk. That's no way to treat a lady. And...you just might wanna work on that berserker charge of yours, honey. It was a little – I take that back, VERY bad. Disgraceful for one of your stature."

"Get offa me!" he roared, struggling to rise and failing.

"Humph. No respect." She stepped off him, but not before digging her claws into his back. He yelped.

She turned back to the speechless Toa of Fire and pointed one clawed hand at him. "You. I'm guessing you and these clowns of yours are the ones I've been assigned to help?"

Vakama suddenly became a lot less speechless. Hordika or not, this thing was beginning to make him mad. "I believe so, and I'll thank you not to dismember my team," he snapped. She blinked, obviously not expecting this. Before anything else could be said, Whenua stepped forward.

"We'd be much obliged if you could tell us who you are, lady," he said with a bow. Behind him, Nuju snorted.

The Hordika smiled, a genuine smile this time. "Finally. Someone with some manners. My name is Natay Mahi. My guess would be is that you're the new Toa of Earth, eh?"

"You guessed right." He smiled back at her. "My name is Whenua Metru, and these are Vakama, Nuju, Matau, and Onewa."

"Hm. And you're the bozos Lhikan asked me to help. How nice."

Vakama gaped. "You knew Toa Lhikan?"

She stared at him as if a rock had just spoken. "Duh. I was his second-in-command until THIS happened to me." She gestured at herself, smiling wryly.

"I didn't know he had a team," Nuju said suspiciously.

"We were...disbanded by the time you were built." Natay replied ruefully. "Due to...some unfortunate events, the Toa Mahi were no more. By the time you came along, it was just Lhikan. The other ten of us had all gone to their rest, or, in Nidhiki's case, found a new...calling."

"What?" The five now looked completely and totally puzzled. Nidhiki wasn't a Toa...was he?

"Never mind. The important thing now is rest and food. Especially that last one. If you'll wait here and get a fire going, fire-boy, I'll get us some food. I left it in the bushes a couple miles away." She took off, once again moving so fast they almost didn't see her move.

Onewa stared after her.

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like this chick much."

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Whatever they were expecting Natay to bring back, it probably wasn't a dead Visorak. At the sight of it, Matau leapt up and swore, Whenua jumped, Nuju twitched, Vakama gave a loud yelp of surprise, and Onewa looked positively disgusted.

"You actually EAT that?" he asked rudely.

Natay glared at him fiercely. "It's good," she said defensively, "You might even enjoy it. Or starve, I really don't care. If you don't like hospitality, that's fine with me." She chuckled at the indignant look on his face. "I take it starvin's not on your agenda. Well, you better get t'eatin' that, cuz...well..."

She didn't have to finish. Onewa's eyes widened and he dove into the fray as the other four Toa Metru all jumped on the food, each grabbing a piece and doing his own thing with it. The Toa of Stone just managed to snag a piece before Vakama, in a fit of impatience, set a sizeable chunk of it on fire, roasting it in no time. The Toa of Fire nodded, satisfied, and devoured it.

It occurred to Onewa just how hungry they were. Their stock of food on the boat hadn't lasted very long, a day and a half at the MOST, and they hadn't eaten in...wow, was it really two and a half days? No wonder they were consenting to eat that thing...

He bit down on his piece and chewed, still disgusted. What kind of monster WAS this Natay, that she would willingly eat Visorak every day? They were an exception, it was either this or starve, and none of them had any intention of starving while Nokama was still in so much danger.

Natay watched them eat with awed amusement. Mata Nui, these boys could eat. Within the space of about four minutes, the entire Visorak was gone, and the only implication of anything was a pile of bones. Nuju sighed and leaned back, eyes closed.

"I can't believe I just did that."

"You're telling me." Whenua shuddered. "We just ate a fragging Visorak. What is WRONG with us?"

"We were hunger-starving!" Matau said defensively, although he too looked a little shocked. "If it weren't for the spider-food, we'd still be hungry. And it won't do for Nokama to have her rescue-savior be starvin' to death!"

"I'm sure." Whenua nodded. "And when her savior comes to get her, he will be sure to tell her so." He nodded in the direction of Vakama, who was now staring quizzically at Natay. Natay stared right back.

"Is there something on my face?" she asked after a minute. What a strange little Toa. Didn't he know it was impolite to stare?

He jumped and blushed, looking down. "N-no. It's just that...I never thought I'd see another Hordika ever again, and here one is, right in front of me." To his surprise, a flash of pain ran across her eyes before she masked them.

"It will please you then to know that I wasn't always like this, then." she said quietly. She smiled mirthlessly. "Forgive me. I didn't think my appearance would mean so much."

'_Way to go, cross-wire...'_ "No, that's not-"

"Put out the fire and rest now. We'll be leaving as soon as the sun rises, and I'm sure those Itami have already set off with your friend."

Vakama sat up, fully alert. "You saw the Itami? They're here? Tell me!"

Natay sighed. "They WERE here, kid. Not anymore, I'm sure. And, one more thing: that piece of crud you call a boat will have to go. I refuse to sail on such junk. There are better boats in the Ga-Metru harbor. I'll pick one out for you."

"And thus, the high'n mighty Natay Hordika doth go t'her rest," Onewa said sarcastically. The Hordika whirled around, suddenly angry. She marched up to him, back as straight as her mutated body would allow.

"You think you know so much of pain," she hissed, yellow eyes holding more fury than any of them had ever seen. "You know NOTHING of pain. You know NOTHING of suffering. Your time as Hordika was short, weeks at the most. I've been like this for countless years, I can't even go among my own people anymore!" She drew herself up to her full height. It was almost laughable, but the claw she was poking into his chest was actually scratching his armor.

"Maybe so," he said, looking at her, "but you chose that life. You CHOSE to remain hidden. Not my fault if you wanna be a hermit!"

"I had no choice," she snarled, eyes blazing. "If I didn't, the Matoran might have killed me."

"All th'more reason t'believe that y've always been, to use the right word, ugly."

Wrong answer.

Natay opened her mouth and an impossibly loud, impossibly high-pitched scream blasted out, knocking him back into Nuju. The orange Hordika glared at him once more before kicking sand onto the dying fire and storming off into the night.

Whenua shook his head as he helped his brothers to their feet.

"Mata Nui. Power Scream."

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Anubis stared out at the water lapping against the sides of the boat eagerly. Not too long now...not too long...soon, they would be at Mt. Valamai, soon, the Blade of Order would be his. And soon, his power would be so great, the Great Spirit himself would tremble with fear.

A smile stole across his mouth as he remembered the look on the face of the Fire Toa who had dared to try and challenge him. The fool had been sadly lacking in strength and speed, not to mention method. But that didn't matter. That pathetic moron was probably still on that little island, mourning the loss of his girlfriend. The Itami shook his head. It had been so obvious what he and Typhon had interrupted.

Beside him, Hera shifted slightly, keeping her gaze trained firmly away from his. She knew what he was thinking about...somewhat. It was what he ALWAYS thought about. The Blade of Order.

It dogged his very soul, the thought of owning that blade. And it had been so close to being his, so close! And then Lhikan had taken it at the last minute and used it to defeat him and the rest of the team. She, Set, Hestia, Typhon, and Osiris had been encased in pure protodermis while Anubis had been forced to watch, helpless to do anything but scream out all his anger and hate.

She was therefore startled when he spoke.

"You know, Hera...if it weren't for the fact that he had tried to defy me...I would almost feel...sorry for him."

Hera bowed her head as peals of wild laughter rang out across the ocean. She didn't even bother asking who "he" was, it didn't matter. For Toa Anubis to say he almost felt sorry for you was praise enough without knowing who.

Below them in the cold, lonely cabin, Nokama stirred slightly. But once again, she did not wake, instead, she slept on, lulled by dreams of waterfalls and pure white clouds rolling across a right blue sky.

And clutched in her hand was the heart-shaped pendant of the necklace Vakama had given her so long ago.

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**Featured Song: "Nobody's Home" –Avril Lavigne**

**AN: So yeah, another crappy chapter...I don't know what's wrong with me. But, this was pretty much just another stupid little filler chapter, the more important stuff comes later, in the next few chapters or so.**

**Onewa gets into a fight straight off with the lovely Natay Hordika, and finds out that you don't mess with a power screamer, no matter how ugly they are. Yeesh. Natay eats Visorak, woo. Believe me, my friends, only insane hunger could force the Toa Metru to eat that stuff, believe me...even Nuju ate it. Agh.**

**And you can now call me Captain Wallflower, because while kayaking at the lake yesterday (I live in Lake Tahoe, woo), we all had pirate names. I was Captain Wallflower of the Party Barge, because I am the major showoff around these parts. My good friend Eri was Captain A. Skank of the Boonficket, Natay was Mistress Example of the Curmudgeon, Jenni was Captain Giggles of the Lucifer, and Daniel was Captain Coco of the Puffs. Yeah. Feel free to throw rotten fruit and other obscene items at any time. -opens umbrella-**

**Reviews?**


	9. Chapter 8: Perfect Ship

**Mhm, I'm back on track now. Woohoo! -throws dance party- Thanks to Raicathre for some totally AWESOME feedback...you rock :)**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Eight: Perfect Ship**

"_Darkness is coming, Lhikan."_

"_And no one knows that better than you, my friend."_

_Kroova's usually cheerful face was now clenched and grim. A long scratch ran down the right side of his mask. He tapped on it absently as he spoke. "You speak the truth, Lhikan. My mission turned out successful, but I didn't manage to do anything but spy. I'm sorry. Rostu and Shruikan are still prisoners. I'm so sorry, Lhikan."_

_Lhikan sighed. "You did your best, Kroova, and that's all that matters. Thank you for your help." He patted the Toa of Metal on the shoulder. "Rest now, you look exhausted."_

"_I am. Thanks for noticing."_

_Lhikan chuckled. Even under the circumstances, his friend still managed to maintain some of his trademark sarcastic humor._

"_We're doing good, Kroova. Don't worry about it, OK?"_

"_Worry? Who's worrying?" _

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Natay bolted up with a start, gasping for breath. She glanced around wildly, claws fully extended as she searched for Roodaka. Upon seeing that no one was there, she sighed and slumped down.

"Jus...just a dream..." she breathed, wiping cold sweat from her forehead. Jeez, she hadn't dreamt about that for YEARS now...why was she suddenly remembering it again? She looked over at the sleeping Onewa and scowled. Oh yeah. That stupid Stone Toa had gone and reminded her of everything she was. And everything she had lost.

Realizing that the sun was almost rising, she got up, shaking the damp sand from her body. She strode over to Vakama and gave him a nice big thump on the back with her tail. He awoke with a start, coughing for breath.

"Wakey, wakey fire-spitter, the sun's a-risin'!" the Hordika grinned, straightening up. He blinked up at her, then nodded and rose, wincing as his stiff joints cracked. "Go look at the ship, I'll wake those other slackers up." Natay said, and strode off to the spot where four multi-colored shapes were curled up in the sand.

Shaking his head at the loud, "HEY!" from Matau, Vakama walked to where a small ship was anchored. He blinked in surprise. Mata Nui, that was a nice ship. Even though the model was an older type, the metal making up the craft was shiny, as if it were brand new. The mast was tall, with a crow's nest on top, and a white sail with a strange symbol stitched into it. And, in a place of honor, was a magnificent solid protodermis steering wheel. Twelve long spokes, with hand-sized grips, and as large around as the stomach of a Tarakava. He had never had any real appreciation for vehicles, he wasn't Matau after all, but...wow.

This was a craft worthy of a Toa.

"Do you like it?" He whirled around to see Natay standing behind him expectantly. He smiled. "It's beautiful," he said, gesturing at it. "Perfect condition for sailing, too. How did you come by it?"

She looked at the ground. "It was...our ship." she murmured softly. "The Toa Mahi's. This was the ship we used to come here from our home island, t'fight the Kanohi Dragon...an' of course, the Toa Itami. After they were defeated, we had no use for it anymore, but it was a waste to see such a thing jus' thrown away. So we kept it...in case of emergency. In case we needed it again. Seemed like a stupid idea at tha time, but lookin' at the circumstances right now, I'd say it turned out to be a good one, don't you think?"

He nodded. "Yes. It did. Who built it?"

"She." she corrected him. "A vessel's always referred to as 'she'. But in answer to yore question, we all did. Took us a long time t'do it, too. All of our love an' skill was put into the makin' of this thing." She traced the front of the craft with one claw, smiling lovingly.

Nuju wandered up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "That's a nice craft," he said, looking up at it. "Very well made. I assume this is the ship we will be using?"

Natay blinked, obviously not used to such cultured language after years spent with only herself and occasionally Lhikan for company. "You assume right, scholar." she said. "This thing'll get you halfway 'cross the sea in three seconds flat."

Matau came running up, dragging Onewa behind him, and skidded to a stop, feet throwing sand all over the place as he did so.

"Is that the boat-ship we'll be takin'? Mata Nui that's a nice boat-ship! How quick-fast does she go? Can I ride-drive? When'll we be quick-leavin'?"

"Slow down!" Natay laughed, wiping sand off her face. "We'll leave as soon as yore all ready. I've already provisioned it, so there's no need t'worry 'bout food. And no, you can't drive. I'm the only one who's allowed to steer this thing, rider though you may be."

Matau pouted. "That's not fair!"

Onewa crossed his arms and glared up at the ship. Great. So that was ten widgets he owed Whenua for the bet that Natay couldn't have found a good enough ship...

"I ain't sailin' on a boat tha's got no name." he said sourly.

"You've got a point," Whenua grinned at him, obviously already planning how to use the money. "Does she have a name?"

"She did..." Natay admitted, "but somehow, I don't think y'd like it that much."

"What is it?" Vakama asked. "It's considered bad luck to sail on a nameless ship, I've heard."

She sighed. "We called her the _Makuta_."

The five Toa Metru stared at her. "The..._Makuta_?" Matau asked incredulously. "Why in Mata Nui's name would you name such a thing after HIM?" Nuju asked.

Natay flushed angrily. "This was before he revealed himself!" she retorted, glaring at all five in turn. "Back then, he was known t'be our protector, an' we worshiped him! It was only right to name our craft after him!"

"Calm down..." Whenua tried to sooth the angry Hordika. "Don't worry, we'll just rename her...is that OK with you?"

"I suggest the _Matau_." The other five turned and glared at the Toa of Air. "What?" he asked defensively. "It's a good-great name, worthy of a good-great boat-ship!" He patted the hull as he said so.

"But that's YOUR name." Onewa pointed out.

"That's the point."

"You're crazy." The Toa of Stone shook his head.

"Freedom." They all looked at Vakama, who had just spoken. Instead of shrinking back, embarrassed, like the four Toa Metru expected, he stood up straighter than before. "That's what her name will be. The _Freedom_. It's what she will bring, and it's what her name will be."

"I second that." Nuju smiled.

"Third." Whenua chimed in.

"Fourth...I guess..." Onewa muttered.

Matau sighed. "Fine, fine...the _Freedom_."

Natay smiled. "And thus, shall this ship, formerly the _Makuta_, be known forevermore as the _Freedom_, as witnessed by Natareda Mahi, former Toa Mahi of Power Scream, an' first of the Toa Hordika." Her voice echoed oddly as she spoke. Raising one claw, she shot a bright orange beam out, and engraved on the ship's hull in big bright letters was _FREEDOM_.

"An' there it is bound, now an' forever, for all eternity. I name you the _Freedom_, an' I remain, as always, your humble servant."

The Hordika bowed before the boat, bending as far as she could, her forehead touching the ground. The five Toa jumped in surprise as a low, loud groan came from the boat. Natay looked up and smiled at it. "I thank you for yer consent." she said, and the boat groaned again, louder this time. Still smiling, she jumped on and walked to the steering wheel.

"What was THAT all about?" Onewa asked as Matau and Nuju pulled him up onto the craft.

"Mahi Nuian boat-naming ceremony," Nuju replied, tugging him up further. "The Mahi Nuians considered boats and ships of all kinds to be sacred, as they allowed them to leave the island and sail to other lands far away. Boats were revered there. I'm sure the island's Toa would feel the same way."

"But...she TALKED to it." Onewa frowned, heaving one leg over the railing. "And it...I dunno, it was like it was talkin' back."

"It was." Nuju said.

Matau's and Onewa's eyes widened. "What? That's impossible! Boats can't TALK-"

"She put all her love and skill into this boat..." came Vakama's voice from behind them. They turned to look at their leader, who was staring out at the ocean. "Who's to say she didn't put some of her soul into it as well? All of them. Each Toa Mahi worked hard to make this boat. Each put every ounce of effort into the making. With that much emotion and feeling coming into it from all sides, it's no wonder it took on life of its own...somewhat." He turned away from the railing and began walking off. "Whenua, I want you to take first watch. Matau, check the lower levels, make sure they're secure. Nuju, see if you can't find a good place for when it comes time to sleep. Onewa, help Natay with the steering, learn a few things. Come on now, on the double!"

Each went eagerly to his job, with the exception of Onewa, who didn't like the fact that he was being sent to help someone he found completely strange and totally alien to what he was used to. Natay returned his glare with a dull look. "Y'know, I admire what that fire-kid's tryna do, but he really needs t'learn when t'quit." she said, fiddling with the tiller. "But, seein' as he's boss, let's get you to work. Ever worked a tiller before?"

"No." Onewa replied sulkily.

"Here then, I'll show you. Now, you might wanna write this down, cuz it's gonna be hard. You grip, and turn according to direction. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now siddown and get to work, cuz we're takin' off."

He glared at her back as he sat down and gripped the tiller with both hands. "I hate you."

"The feeling's mutual." she replied, steering the ship out of the harbor and into the ocean.

Vakama stared out at the ocean, which was shining brightly from the light of the rising sun.

"Not too much longer, Nokama..." he murmured, one hand over his aching heart. "Just keep safe...please."

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Nokama woke up to find herself wrapped in warm, strong arms. Still halfway in dreamland, she smiled and curled up tighter into the warmth. In her mind, the one she loved smiled and wrapped his arms tighter around her. "'Bout time you woke up, pretty one," he whispered, nuzzling her cheek softly. He shifted, getting up, and she gave a slight moan at the disturbance.

Suddenly, she became aware that she WAS wrapped in warm, strong arms, but the one they belonged to was NOT Vakama. Nothing even NEAR Vakama. Typhon smiled down at her and went into a sitting position in front of her. She jerked back, landing on the floor with a thud and scrambling backwards. He chuckled as she gasped for breath.

"I'm not THAT bad, am I?" he asked, amused.

She shook her head vigorously. "No. It's just that I'm not used to waking up in the arms of someone I hardly know." Once again, he noticed, her hand was around that darned pendant of hers. Jeez, what was with her and that necklace?

He stood up and shrugged. "Whatever. I'll go get us some food. Wait here."

"As if I have a choice..." she muttered once the door had closed.

She sighed and gripped the pendant harder.

Mata Nui, what was she going to do?

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Typhon carefully mixed fruit up in the cracked bowls, arranging each to his pleasure. It was a hidden talent of his, actually, cooking. None of the other Itami were very good at it, so it often fell to him to cook the meals. He chewed thoughtfully on a Bula berry and picked the bowls up, about to return to Nokama's cabin to eat in peace, away from the other Itami and their table antics.

Something inside him boiled whenever he saw his hard work plastered all over the walls like some lowly paint...it wasn't right. On more than one occasion, he had suggested that they cook their own meals, but the look Anubis had given him had settled that instantly. No one went against Anubis's orders.

He wasn't prepared for the hand that reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder, nor the husky voice that said, "Stay still."

Typhon let out a surprised yelp, almost dropping his cargo. He stood stock-still, breathing a sigh of relief as Anubis stepped out from behind him. "Busy are we, Fearmaker?" he asked, his voice smooth as silk. "Fetching food for the prisoner, are we?"

"Your orders were to keep her fed." Typhon replied, not looking at him. Anubis's voice got silkier. "Ah yes, but I notice TWO bowls, my friend. Is she really THAT hungry, or are you stupid enough to waste two bowls of food on one person?"

"One is for me...sir." the Toa of Shadow replied stiffly, still not looking at him. "I...thought I would eat with her just...just in case."

"But that's not the only reason, is it, Typhon?"

Typhon's eyes widened. "What? No! Of course it's the only-"

"You don't even know what that pendant of hers means, do you?"

This came as a surprise. "Well...no." he admitted. "I haven't asked her."

Anubis's eyes gleamed as he released his shoulder. "Ta-Matoran make them for the ones they want to spend the rest of their lives with. They put all their skill and effort into making them...in a sense, they put their HEARTS into them. If the recipient accepts the gift, that means she has acknowledged his feelings and feels the same. It's a Ta-Matoran way of saying I love you." A cruel smirk tugged the corners of his mouth. "The jewel is always of the rarest kind they can find, of the highest quality. The metal is also of the rarest and highest quality that can be found. Apparently, our little prisoner's admirer had access to some good quality items."

"So it would seem."

"Hera tells me she talks in her sleep about a tall Matoran called 'Vaka'. Somehow, I don't think she means you, my Fearmaker." Anubis's voice had suddenly gone soft.

"I don't care who she means," Typhon said gruffly. "I don't give a frag about her feelings, or who she loves, Anubis. All I care about is the mission."

"And so it should be. Have fun, Fearmaker."

Typhon sighed as his leader walked away. OK, so the pretty Water Toa had someone she cared about. Not like he cared, anyway. His mission was to guard her, keep watch over her, keep her from escaping, not become friends with her, or indeed, fall in love with her.

But if that was so, why did his heart suddenly ache and a lump come to his throat?

Taking a deep breath, he walked the rest of the way to Nokama's cabin and opened the door, putting on as best a smile as he could and announcing that he had food.

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"Hera, have you ever experienced love?"

Hera looked up, surprised by her leader's question. "No, I can't say I have," she said, going back to polishing his armor. "Why do ask, sir?"

"Hm. A pity. It's a most wondrous feeling, Hera...but beyond anything you're capable of comprehending, I'm sure."

If it had been anyone else who had made that remark, they would have ended up dead on the spot. But seeing as it was Anubis, she kept up with her task. "How so, sir?" she asked.

His eyes got a misty, far-away look in them as he spoke. "It makes you feel as if you could own the world just because the one you love smiled at you. Bittersweet, anxiety and happiness at the same time when they're present...and the insatiable desire to make them yours." His voice got softer. "And the PAIN when you find they don't love you the way you do them."

"It sounds...harsh." Hera murmured.

He snapped back to reality. "Yes. It is. In a way, you are fortunate you will never experience love, Tearbringer. Without it, you are strong."

"I can see that, sir."

"Good. I have a new assignment for you now."

"What is it?"

"Keep an eye on Typhon. I don't trust him at all with that little Toa. If we're not careful, he's going to fall in love with her, and everything will be ruined. Keep him from doing so, Tearbringer."

"It shall be done, Anubis." Hera promised, bowing her head.

"Good. Get back to shining my armor before I decide to make you swim to Voya Nui."

"Yes sir."

She began to polish faster than ever.

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**Featured Song: "Gray" –BarlowGirl**

**AN: OMG. Me and my roommates Aliena, Jenni, and Katie were standing by the window last night, and the dean was out on the lawn right under our window, and he called Aliena Ali-anus XDDDD Her name is pronounced Ay-lee-ay-na, but...now... -dies laughing-**

**Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. It turned out a little longer than I had expected, guess I wrote too much whoops. Now that I'm back on track, I'm happy :) Rar.**

**Reviews?**


	10. Chapter 9: Water

**Well, we're in trouble. Me, Eri, Zander, Jenni, Daniel, Jake, Gunther, and Aliena went to go see Pirates of the Caribbean two nights ago instead of Cars when the school took a trip to the movie theater in Reno, and well...we kinda got back an hour late. So now we all have work crew for a week. :( And I am not talking to Zander, as he threw his hot dog at me and got ketchup all over me in the movie theater. I'm not happy.**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Nine: Water**

"_How do I look?" Lhikan asked, turning around._

"_Great." Vastor smiled._

"_It does nothing for you." Nidhiki said at the same time. Lhikan laughed. "I'm inclined to agree with you, brother," he said to the Toa of Air, who smirked. "The whole 'formal' thing doesn't do much, does it?"_

"_Not at all."_

"_Lookin' to score with the Ga-Matoran, eh, Lhikan?" Natay asked from the doorway, grinning. He gave her a mock glare. "Oh forgive me, I didn't know the almighty Natareda Mahi was interested in my tangled and twisted affairs!"_

"_I'm not." she smirked. "But there's someone out there who just might be..."_

_In a trice, he was gone._

_Nidhiki laughed so hard he hurt his jaw._

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"Onewa, what are you doing?" Natay asked wearily, prying yet another object out of the Toa of Stone's hands. He glared at her. "I'm fraggin' BORED!" he announced, plopping down onto a barrel and crossing his arms. "There's NOTHING to do on this stupid ship! Nothing except sit and WAIT!"

The Hordika shrugged, returning her hands to the steering wheel. "Get used to it. It gets worse. Storms an' big waves an' sea monsters."

Onewa's eyes widened dramatically. "Sea...sea monsters?" he asked, looking like he was about to be sick. Natay nodded. "Big ones, too," she said. "Trust me, they're quite tha sight. Y'd enjoy it, I promise." He hurried to the railing. She frowned quizzically at the retching sounds that followed.

"Jeez, an' I thought Nidhiki was dramatic? This guy takes it to a whole new level."

Whenua walked up, staggering slightly, looking sick. "Ocean is...in good order, Natay..." he said, pressing one hand to his mouth in between is and in. She smiled understandingly. "Seasick, eh, librarian?" she asked. He nodded. "A little. I'm not too...good on the open water."

"I kin see that." Natay looked him up and down. "Go an' get some rest now, Whenua. Tell that airhead Toa, that whatsisname...Matau to take tha next watch. Y've done more'n yore fair share."

He nodded gratefully and hurried off to the cabins. Natay chuckled and pulled Onewa off the railing. "I'ma go see what that fire-spitter o' yours's doin', a'ight?" she said. He glared at her before opening his mouth again. Just in time, she dropped him, as a torrent of more sick came up from his throat. "Take the wheel an' keep on course, K rock-smasher? I'll be right back, an' then y'can go rest."

"What?" He hadn't thought she would be so kind.

"I said, when I get back, y'can rest. That alright with you, or d'you wanna stay on longer?"

He shook his head vigorously. "No, that's alright," he said hastily. "Jus' a li'l more's good with me!"

She smiled and walked off, leaving him to stare after her.

Onewa was confused. What was this woman's deal? She was gross, there was no doubt about that, she ate VISORAK after all, but now she was being...NICE to him? Weird. It bothered him to know that he liked it. For a Hordika, she had a nice smile.

Holy Mata Nui. That was not a good thought. Not only was Natay gross and weird, she was old. Older than him, at least, he didn't know her real age. She had fought the Toa Itami centuries earlier, not to mention the Kanohi Dragon before that. She talked to boats, steering wheels, and other inanimate objects on deck, made sure he knew he was stupid, and above all, called him rock-smasher. That was unforgivable in his book, but somehow, he wasn't mad. Freaky.

Gripping the steering wheel tightly, he clenched his jaw and vowed not to throw up. He didn't see the large dorsal fin that was following the ship, nor the rows of jagged teeth that emerged from a blood red mouth as it came above the waves for a brief moment. Then the creature disappeared beneath the water and it was unnoticed by all.

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"Fire-spitter..." Vakama turned around at the sound of Natay's voice. "Natay." he greeted, allowing her to sit by him. She did so, groaning slightly as her tired limbs complained. He smiled. "Tired?" he asked.

She nodded, sliding her legs beneath her. "A little. Anythin' to report?"

He sighed. "Unfortunately, no. I can't make heads or tails of these waters, I'm afraid. It's all the same to me. How do you know where you're going?"

"I've been here before," she shrugged. "Long time ago. So long in fact, that I'd almost forgotten it. Before the team and me went to Metru Nui, we went everywhere. Pretty much chasin' dreams an' havin' fun." Her voice held a note of longing in it.

"What WERE the Toa Mahi like?" Vakama asked suspiciously. "I was told that they only defeated the Kanohi Dragon and had no real personalities."

Natay looked outraged. "Whoever told you that can and will be maimed." she snapped. "The Toa Mahi, without personality! Who told you THAT?"

Vakama shrugged uncomfortably, remembering a certain Ta-Matoran he had once worked under. "He's...indisposed of, for the moment. But tell me about them. I want to hear more about what they were like."

She sighed. "Kid, it's not that simple. We weren't superheroes, we were just regular people doin' our job. The catch's that our job happened to be savin' Matoran and doin' good."

"Kind of like us."

"Who – oh, you an' yore team. Yeah, kinda like you guys. 'Cept we 'ad twice yer number. There was twelve of us, an' it took three to take down one Itami. Kinda sad, huh?"

He was silent.

"Not helpin' matters, am I?" she chuckled. "Sorry. But just because your numbers are smaller than ours were doesn't mean yore weaker. The only problem witchu is that y've got no basic trainin'. Kinda disgraceful fer your stature."

Vakama bristled. "If it weren't for us, you'd still be living in a cave, with no purpose in life! It's because of US that you get to live again!"

"Maybe so." She sighed heavily. "And I'm grateful to ya for it, Vakama. But don't forget, I gave up everything for Metru Nui. My life, my best friend, an' anythin' else I could've DREAMED of. And what was the thanks I got? Livin' in a fraggin' cave, not able to go outside for fear o' gettin' killed by the ones I swore to protect." She took a deep breath. "I tried to leave once, right after I healed. And...someone saw me. I dunno who, but they did, an' they screamed. I got lucky. Lhikan happened to be in the area, and he got me back t'the cave. The Matoran who'd seen me was convinced he was hallucinatin', so he didn't think anythin' more 'bout it." A sad smile twisted her mouth. "After all, who'd wanna believe they saw THIS?"

Long orange legs, silvery ridges on her back, a smooth, sleek head, clawed, dangerous looking hands, a long tail with a blade attached to the end...it was true. She WAS hideous, but at the same time, beautiful in all her ferocity and regret. Vakama had honestly never met anyone, short of perhaps Lhikan, with such an amazing will to survive. It bordered on freakish.

She was different from what he and his friends had been when they were Hordika. For one thing, they hadn't had tails. Only one of their hands had been claws, the other one had had some kind of new tool that had taken weeks to master. They hadn't had the silvery spines, those were more Rahkshi design than Hordika. And the intricate markings beneath her eyes and on her chest hadn't been there for them either...but it only made her more unique. He looked over at her again, and his breath caught in his throat.

Instead of the mutated, twisted Hordika, he saw a tall, proud Toa, bright orange in color, with yellow eyes as vibrant as any star. In one hand was clutched a long sickle and in the other, the chain it was connected to. On her face was an orange Kakama, the Great Mask of Speed.

And then the moment passed and the Hordika was back, ugly and beautiful at the same time in all her twisted glory. He blinked. Was that...the TRUE Natay Mahi? If it was...he was proud to have seen it.

A sudden jolt knocked the boat hard, and he was thrown forward. If it hadn't been for Natay's quick reflexes, he would have been thrown overboard.

"What the heck's goin' on?" Natay shouted over to the crow's nest, where Matau stood, anxiously gazing out at the water. "I don't eye-see anythin', Power screamer!" he called back, still scanning the waves. "I – WHOA!"

He was thrown off the crow's nest by the next violent jolt, grabbing the railing and clinging to it for dear life. Nuju and Whenua pounded up the stairs of the cabin, flinging open the door and running over to where Onewa was struggling with the tiller. Nuju slammed past the Toa of Stone and stared down at the water. His eyes widened in horror.

"Natay!" he shouted, before whatever it was that he had seen hit the boat again, sending him flying into the water. "NUJU!" Vakama screamed, running to where his friend had been standing not two seconds ago. "Oh Mata Nui..." Beside him, Natay swore horribly.

Closing in on the Toa of Ice was a large and extremely terrifying shape, gray-blue in color, with a large dorsal fin and huge fins on the sides. It didn't appear to have any eyes, but it didn't need to. It roared, and its mouth split open like a burst fruit, revealing rows upon rows of teeth in a blood red mouth. It began to suck in, and everything within range was thrown towards it.

"SOMEBODY!" Nuju cried, being dragged forward by the suction created by the beast's breath. "Nuju!" Vakama shouted again, leaning over the railing. A flash of orange sped by him. "What the - ?"

A loud splash caught his attention, and he was suddenly aware that Natay was no longer at his side. "NATAY!"

Onewa spun around, still gripping the wheel, eyes wide with horror. "What's goin' on?" he asked, breath wheezing out in his fear. Vakama pointed down to the water.

"Natay and Nuju are both down there with some weird sea monster after them!"

Down in the water, Natay swam for her life. She grabbed the Toa of Ice and began to drag him back to the boat, but it was hard. As a Hordika, she was not a good swimmer. Heck, she hadn't been a good swimmer as a Toa; as a Hordika, she was borderline terrible. But someone's life was in danger, and nothing could keep her from rescuing him. That is, if she wasn't in need of rescue herself.

She choked, holding Nuju above the water and up to Vakama and Matau, who were both trying to reach. Using the last of her strength, she managed to hurl him up the them...but the force of her throw sent her down beneath the waves. The beast roared again and dove.

"HORDIKA!" Matau cried, staring at the spot where she had been. He was thrown to the floor as a brown streak sped past him, knocking him over.

"What the heck is he doing?" Whenua cried. "He knows he can't swim!"

Vakama's heart stopped.

Natay coughed and spluttered under the water, flailing wildly in a panic. She couldn't breathe, she could feel the water flowing into her lungs in painful waves. Her vision was blurring quickly, and her movements were slowing down as she sank. Suddenly, something grabbed her around the waist and started pulling her up.

'_...rock-smasher...?'_

Onewa felt her go limp in his arms and pushed down the fear that erupted in his chest. OK, so, this wasn't the best idea he'd ever had. Definitely not the best, but there was no way he was just going to let someone die like that, especially from the thing he feared more than anything: water. Not to mention the ugly and impossibly huge sea monster.

Oh jeez. He'd forgotten about the sea monster. He swam harder as a dark shape rose from beneath them, and teeth half the size of Natay's tail-blade erupted around them. He wasn't going to be eaten, he wasn't going to be eaten...oh jeez, he was going to be eaten, he was going to be eaten...

Something knocked him on the head, and he looked up. A rope? Grabbing onto it, he closed his eyes and prayed as he and his cargo were both pulled up with amazing speed. He heard Vakama's voice shout, "FIRE!" but that seemed so far away...

Onewa was just vaguely aware of hitting the deck of the ship and big hands pounding on his back as water spewed from his mouth.

"FIRE!" Vakama shouted, launching a disk down into the sea monster's mouth as the thing roared. The disk became a fireball, whether from the speed or its power, no one knew, and it disappeared into the monster's throat. The thing gulped, and screamed as an explosion came from its stomach. Still roaring and screaming, it dove back beneath the water, the resulting waves rocking the boat so much that the four conscious on deck were sure the boat would flip over.

Whenua gasped and slumped down onto the floor beside Matau. "Remind me...again...why we're doing...this..." Matau said, leaning forward on his knees to poke Onewa, who wasn't moving. "Here, let me." Whenua said. He brought both his fists down onto the Stone Toa's back. Onewa choked, and a torrent of water spilled from his mouth before he reverted to a fit of coughing.

"I hate you." he growled, glaring up at Whenua once he was done coughing. The Toa of Earth grinned.

"At least you're not dead anymore."

"Natay? Natay? Natay!" They looked over at Vakama, who was leaning over the still form of Natay Hordika. He shook her shoulder, calling her name again. "Power screamer!" Matau cried, banging on her armored chest with one hand. Onewa's face paled.

"Is she OK?" he demanded, crouching beside Vakama. The Toa of Fire laid his head on her chest and listened. He smiled, relieved. "She's fine. Sounds like she might have picked up some water, but that's easily taken care of. Whenua, wanna do the honors?"

"With pleasure." Instead of banging on her back, the Toa of Earth picked the still Hordika up and squeezed her in his arms. She gave a cough and water flew straight from her mouth and onto Nuju's mask.

"Gross." He wiped it off with one hand, grimacing.

Whenua placed the coughing Natay on the floor gently, crouching next to her. "Are you OK?" he asked gently. To Onewa's displeasure, she smiled up at him gratefully. "Yeah. Thanks." She grimaced, arching her back. It cracked and all five Toa winced. "Who saved me? I remember summin' pullin' me up after I went under."

"That would be the rock-carver here," Matau smiled, pushing Onewa forward. Natay looked over at him with something akin to wonder. He felt his face turn red. "Yeah, well..." he mumbled, kicking at the floor. "Couldn't jus' let that thing eat ya."

Natay smiled, and for some reason, it improved his mood incalculably. "Thanks." she murmured. But then, to his displeasure, she turned her smile back to Whenua. "And thanks for waking me up." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head modestly. "It was nothing. You needed it, so I obliged. Ow!" He rubbed his shin and glared at Onewa.

"Now what?" Vakama interrupted, breaking though the conversation. "Was anything damaged?"

"I'll go check." Whenua disappeared beneath the cabin stairs. Onewa scowled at his retreating back. Stupid Earth Toa, making Natay smile at him instead of Onewa...wait a minute. He HATED Natay, so why did he care who she smiled at? He was just mad that he wasn't getting proper credit for saving her, yeah that was it...

"What WAS that thing?" Vakama asked, interrupting his thoughts. "It was huge!"

"It's called a Gargoshark." Natay replied, stretching her aching limbs. "Only found in these parts, far's I know. Big, bad, an' with an appetite t'match. That thing could've eaten everyone on board an' STILL be hungry enough to eat mebbe an eighth of a Metru."

The Toa Metru shuddered.

"Power screamer, are you alright?" Matau asked, helping her to her feet. She grimaced, but then smiled slightly. "Yeah. I'll be fine. I jus' need to rest a little." She looked over at Vakama. "Permission to rest?"

He smiled. "After saving Nuju like that, I'd be willing to give you anything you could ever need. Permission granted. Go get some sleep, Natay, you look tired."

"I am. Thanks for noticing."

She staggered off to the cabin stairs, yawning and groaning.

"Onewa, think you can steer for a while?" Vakama asked. Onewa jerked out of his trance. "St-steer? Yeah, totally." He gripped the wheel, jaw clenched tightly. Vakama blinked.

"Is...something wrong?" he asked tentatively.

"No." the Toa of Stone bit out, glaring straight ahead.

The Toa of Fire was puzzled, but he shrugged and got up. "Matau, go take a nap, I'll take the rest of your watch before mine comes up. Nuju, you go get some rest as well. Being thrown overboard can't be a good experience."

"You don't know the half of it." Nuju shuddered, and then went off in the direction of the cabins. Reaching his appointed sleeping place, he stretched out on the bed that had once belonged to Terios of Ice and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Back at the steering wheel, Onewa found he couldn't take whatever weird emotion he was feeling. "Hold that thought," he said to Vakama, shoving the Toa of Fire over to the wheel. "I'll be right back." Running off, he headed over in the direction of the cabins.

Vakama shook his head. "I don't know what confuses me more..." he said to Matau, "him or women."

Matau nodded in agreement.

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Natay opened one eye at the snores that erupted from the other room and shook her head. "Jeez, you'd think there was a thunderstorm steaduv a Toa in there."

She stiffened, suddenly aware of a presence outside the room. "Who's there?" she called.

"Whenua." came the reply. "Want something to eat?"

She suddenly found she was ravenous. "That'd be nice."

The Toa of Earth chuckled and entered the room, carrying a plate of food. She smiled gratefully as she took it, wolfing it down immediately. He looked fairly awed.

"So, are you sure you're OK?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm sure. Just really tired."

"Are you sure?" he asked concernedly, sitting on her bed. "You could be sick or hurt or-"

"Are all Onu-Matoran this worried all the time? Jeez, I'm fine. See, no cuts or anythin' anywhere."

She was right. Besides looking overly exhausted, she was totally fine. He shrugged embarrassedly. "Sorry. Bein' with those guys tends to leave ya extra careful. I can't count the number of time I've had to be the one to mention someone was hurt because they were too stupid or whatever to realize it themselves."

She sighed, leaning back into her covers. "I'm about to ask you a favor, an' I'm also askin' you not to take it the wrong way."

"What is it?" he asked, feeling confused and apprehensive. What in Mata Nui's name did she want?

"Can you give me a hug? I'm in need of one." She bit her lip, afraid he would take it the wrong way. He smiled, understanding what she wanted. Comfort, a way to assure herself that everything was alright.

"I can do that." he said and hugged her gently, being careful not to squeeze too hard. She hugged him back, laying her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes. Why she had suddenly wanted a hug so bad was beyond her, especially since it was from this strange Toa, who she had literally just met two days ago, but at the moment, she really didn't care. Instead, she basked in the rare feeling of being safe again.

It was weird...but when she had found out that Onewa of all people had saved her, a warmth had spread through her chest for some reason. It was probably just relief that everyone was alive and OK, but still...

"Hey Natay, I-" Outside the open door, Onewa stopped, shocked to no end. NATAY was hugging WHENUA, who was hugging NATAY...and this image burned itself into his mind. Natay hugging Whenua, who was leaning heavily on her, as if he were about to fall.

And Onewa found, not for the first time where Natay Hordika was concerned, that he felt more than a little sick. But this was a different kind of sick. Before, he had felt mere disgust, looking down upon her feral ways, but now...now, it was pure, nauseous sick, that feeling of horror and shock mixed in one that made one want to do nothing more than perform the ritual known as throwing up.

He turned on his heel and ran up the stairs, knowing they hadn't seen him. Mata Nui, what was he THINKING? That Natay Mahi would consent to forgive him for being so rude to her was nothing short of madness...and yet, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Get her to forgive him for being a dolt, and become somewhat friends with her. It bothered him to think of how pleasant that sounded.

But it wasn't going to happen. Not while WHENUA was on board, oh no, while WHENUA was on board, Natay would never notice Onewa, the proud carver who had saved her life...no, she would notice Whenua, the librarian who had made her cough up water.

Natay pulled away and leaned back down on her back. "Thanks, librarian." Whenua smiled. "Any time, power screamer. If you need me, call." He got up and left, leaving her to slip into a deep sleep, filled with boats and silver seas, and the happy laughter of the Toa Mahi surrounding her from every side.

"What's with you?" Vakama asked as he spotted his friend coming back up, looking extremely hurt and angry.

"Screw off." Onewa grabbed the steering wheel from him and glared at it, looking mightily as though he were about to explode. Vakama shrugged and left. "Whatever. I'll be in the crow's nest if you need me, alright?"

No reply.

Vakama shrugged again and left. Strange. When he had left for Natay's cabin, the Toa of Stone had looked strangely excited about something...but now he looked like he was about to cry. Only, that was impossible. Onewa Metru NEVER cried, no matter what. Vakama doubted if he had shed a tear in his life. Putting it out of his mind, he stared back out at the ocean from the crow's nest, clenching the railing so hard that it almost broke.

He sighed. "Nokama, I'm sorry I'm taking so long..." he whispered as a heavy breeze caressed his back. "Just wait a little longer, and I SWEAR I'll find you...I swear. And then I'll tell you what I wanted to say on the pier at Ga-Koro...I swear."

Content with his plan, he leaned forward and sighed again.

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"_Matau..."_

The Toa of Air whirled around, an eager smile on his face. "I KNEW you'd quick-come soon as I started sleep-dreamin'!" he said brightly.

The tall green Toa lady smiled at him. _"And you were right."_ she said. _"I came. And I am ready to tell you the next part of our story."_

He sat down eagerly as she prepared to speak.

"_I touched the stone, and I was blinded by a bright green light. When it died down, I was what you see before you."_

"A spirit-ghost?"

She laughed. _"No. I was a Toa...the first ever Toa to have ever been known. And belted around my waist was a marvelous golden sword, with a blood red pommel stone."_

Matau froze.

"_I think you know the name of my blade."_

"The Blade of Order." he whispered. His eyes widened in shock. "But then YOU must be-"

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**Featured Song: "Vermilion" – Slipknot**

**AN: Another stupidly long chapter...I can't help it. VV But whatever, I like this one, it's nice and ACTIONY. -clanks Vakama and Nokama toys together- MAKE PLOT ACTION! X-**

**Onewa's jealous of Whenua, who got to give Natay a hug to make her feel better...it just goes to show, a li'l politeness can go a LONG way. Such as getting a hug from a mutated Toa Mahi XD -slapped- What joy. I've always wanted to hug a mutant... -mauled by the real life Natay, who is standing right next to her-**

**And no, this isn't a Whenua/Natay fic. It's also not a Nuju/Onewa. In fact, there's no slash whatsoever. My friend Natay happens to be in love with Onewa and wants to have his kids. Scary, I know. But hey, life can't be perfect, I mean, Onewa thinks her story counterpart likes Whenua of all people. Nothing could be farther from the truth.**

**Reviews, please.**


	11. Chapter 10: Beautiful

**I'm back... -slumps down- Sorry for not being able to post or anything, guys, I was on restriction. As in, no laptop or iPod restriction. And I've been driven CRAZY. Nonstop Spice Girls, Gnarls Barkley, Goo Goo Dolls, and the dreaded pop music that my crazy roommates play. I was so insanely happy to get my iPod back, it wasn't even funny. But yeah, I'm back till later today, so I'm writing this next chapter right now. Speaking of which, I'd better shut up and get on with it.**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Ten: Beautiful**

"_Toa of Water indeed." Hera sneered. "Toa of Incompetence, more like. If I could tell you how weak you are, the list would stop in about five millennia."_

_Kaylani drew herself up with perfect regal disdain. "At least I do my job correctly. How many times have you been ordered to kill me? At least five, I'm sure. For a Toa Itami, you're not too good at killing. I'm still alive."_

_The Toa of Acid bristled. "Fool of a Toa! You don't even understand what I am, do you? Do you?"_

"_You are evil. That's all I need to know."_

"_Evil...yes, I am evil. But I am also Anubis's favorite. Out of all of we Itami, he favors me. I alone am his strong right hand!"_

"_Right hand THIS!"_

_Kaylani's fist smashed into Hera's mask._

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Strange waters, these. Very strange. Osiris could honestly say that he couldn't make heads or tails of them. One minute, the water was choppy, then smooth as glass the next. The pattern had repeated itself several times. It was unnerving. He had no idea where they were, and the heavy fog certainly wasn't helping.

Beside him, Set fidgeted nervously. "Where in the world are we?" he asked irritably after a minute. The churning ocean was making him sick.

"Not sure." Osiris replied. "I'm a bit confused."

"You mean we're lost?" Set's voice came out higher and a lot less masculine than usual.

"I'm not lost, I just don't know where we are," Osiris snapped. "There's a difference."

"Well then, I suggest you start FINDING where we are, Ghostmaker."

The pair turned around. Anubis was standing in the doorway, dark and imposing as ever. "Hear me, Osiris. If my plans are set back by you or that impressionable sap Typhon, neither of you nor anyone else on this ship will be very happy. Do I make myself clear?"

"C-crystally so, sir." Osiris gulped. Anubis smiled, making his blood run cold.

"Good. Back to work, immediately."

"Immediately, Anubis." Both turned back to their work, Set bending over a set of controls and Osiris gripping the steering wheel with renewed vigor. Anubis's eyes became slits as he left the room. Their sighs of relief were not lost on him.

Rahi. That's what they were, Rahi. They would be better suited to Rahi forms again than these Toa forms. Although, he had to admit, these were a lot stronger than Rahi. Easier to channel their powers. All except for himself. Of course.

In a way, he should be thanking Sylvaticus for trapping him inside this Toa body. Hands were extremely useful, especially for gripping weapons like, say, the Blade of Order. Which he currently did not own. But soon...soon he would. And then he would have revenge for all the pain and suffering the world had brought upon him...soon, he would have his revenge. And he, not Makuta, not Mata Nui, would rule the islands, and he would control them with an iron fist...

Such a beautiful dream, marred by the fact that they were currently lost in the area known on the map as the Dream. He could just barely see Hestia up in the crow's nest, vainly staring out into the water. As he watched, the Toa of Nightmare swayed, coming dangerously close to falling. He chuckled. Yes, the Dream was just that. Timeless mists that swamped all true thought, unless you possessed the mental capacity to resist. And he was one such individual. There wasn't an illusion out there that could defeat his highly developed mind.

He hopped up into the crow's nest and gave Hestia a sharp clout to wake her up.

"Wake up," he snapped. "I have no time for your incompetence."

"Yes Anubis." She scrambled to her feet. "Is there some way I can please you?"

"Scan for dreams. Any dreams, large or small."

"Immediately, Anubis." She scrunched up her eyes as she peered out at the water with the same renewed vigor he had seen in Osiris and frowned. "Detecting dream signals at six o'clock." she said. "About...three or four of them."

He stiffened. "What do they feel like?"

"Sentient beings, for sure. I can feel definite thought patterns coming through, but hazy. Except for one. One feels clear and defined."

"Can you tell who it is?"

"Hang on." She closed her eyes and hummed softly. Snatches of the dream stole across her mind.

A tall red and gold Toa spoke hazily, fading in and out of sight and hearing...a gigantic dragon...a blade attached to a chain...then a form broke through and Hestia almost fell over. Anubis caught her and shoved her back on her feet.

"Well?" he demanded, looking edgier than she had ever seen him.

"It's that Toa, that power screamer!" she gasped, grasping the railing for support. "She's back!"

"Orange with a large blade on a chain?"

"Yes! But she's...different now."

"How so?"

Hestia hesitated. "It's hard to explain..."

"I didn't ask if it was hard to explain. I asked how she was different. Is she a Turaga?"

"No." She shook her head. "She's...hunched over now, and she has a tail. And her face...it's hideous." She shivered. "Her sickle's...you don't understand, sir, her sickle's a PART of her now. She looks more like a Rahi than a Toa."

She was slightly nonplussed when he turned away from her, muttering to himself.

"Natay...little Toa Natay...so you're back, huh? Back to stick that blade of yours into me again? Not this time, Natay...not this time." He smiled secretively. "If you help these Toa, you could end up destroying my whole mission...if we don't do something first. That Gargoshark that attacked us was pretty ripped up...why do I have a feeling you had something to do with that?"

Hestia stared. That Gargoshark had been HUGE, and she knew they were lucky to have escaped with their lives. Thanks to a move on Hera's part, the thing had ended up with a throatful of acid, and had been hauled up and killed. Even as they stood there, it was being taken apart and would be used for food and other supplies. The bones would come in handy for makeshift weapons...just in case. She highly doubted they would need them, but it never hurt to be prepared.

"Hestia, work your way into this dream of Natay's. I want to know what she's up to."

"Immediately, Anubis."

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Matau's mouth opened and closed like a Ruki fish's before just hanging open all together. The Toa lady smiled at him. _"I must be who?"_ she asked teasingly. _"I was wondering when you'd realize it. For one of my line, you're surprisingly slow."_

"Sylva...Sylvaticus!" the Toa of Air gasped. She reached out towards him, and he fell on his butt and scrambled backwards. "G-ghost-spirit!" he shouted, trying to get away from her. She looked sad.

"_Why dost thou run from me?"_ she asked. _"I am thy mother."_

"Y-you're not supposed to be here!" Matau gulped. "Th-this is the living place-world! You're a ghost-spirit!"

She frowned. _"And where does it say that a spirit cannot visit the living realm?"_

He blinked at this piece of logic. "Uhh...nowhere, I guess..."

"_Very true. I am here to help thee, Matau. No matter how many years have passed, thou art still a part of my family. As I am a part of thine."_ Her eyes bore into him. _"You have the blood of the first champion in thy veins, Matau. This blood is what allowed you to become a Toa."_

"Did Lhikan know about this?" Matau asked, genuinely curious. Was that really the only reason he'd been chosen? If it was, he would probably cry...

"_He did not. But even though he did not know thy true origins, he still chose you over Orkahm. You were and still are the best choice."_

Matau's head was spinning. Holy...he was the descendant of the first Toa EVER? As in the original Toa-hero? Maybe he was just dreaming, and this wasn't one of his "special" dreams. _'I must be dreaming...yeah, that's it, just dreaming...'_

"_Don't even think about pinching thyself. I'm not done with thee yet."_

OK, scratch that theory.

"_It's time for you to truly live up to thy heritage, my little one. I was...so happy when you were chosen as Toa, I could shout."_

He was silent. Great. The only reason he'd been chosen to be a Toa was because he was the descendant of the original Toa. Just GREAT. While Vakama and the others had been chosen because they were the masters of their craft, he'd been chosen because of his ANCESTOR. It bordered on disgusting. No wonder Nokama always refused him. She probably wanted a REAL Toa-hero, like...like...Vakama. They were best friends, and probably more than friends by now. They were always together, no matter what, talking about something new, and most times, completely and totally random. He knew Vakama was in love with her. It took a complete idiot to not know THAT. Even Nuju had pulled his head out of the clouds long enough to notice. And apparently, Nokama liked him too. She smiled when she saw him, listened when he spoke, and, most importantly, wore the necklace he had given her. Not just given, but MADE by him. And Matau had been jealous...so jealous at the sheer joy on her face when he'd given it to her. It had made him sad and angry and heartsore all at once.

They hadn't seen him. He'd been hiding. Eavesdropping, as Nuju would scold if he knew. He hadn't meant to...truly. He had been going to see Nokama again, to woo her again, but she wasn't alone. Vakama had been there, and they were talking. He could still remember their conversation.

"_Your village is doing alright?" Vakama asked, his intense gaze on Nokama's face. She smiled, gazing right back at him._

"_Yes, quite well. Thank you for the concern." She looked at him sideways. "But that's not what you want, is it, Vakama? I've been around you long enough to know when you want something." She breathed in and looked at him again. "What is it?"_

_He blushed, to Matau's displeasure. "To...to give you this." He rummaged in his backpack for something. "Turn around." She did so, looking apprehensive. Smiling now, Vakama took something gold and shiny out of his backpack and fastened it around her neck. She looked down at it and gasped._

_Matau saw it clearly as she turned around to gaze wordlessly up at Vakama. It was a golden necklace, with a heart-shaped pendant that held a red jewel in it. His heart began to ache abominably as Nokama reached up and pulled the Toa of Fire into her arms._

_Unable to watch anymore, he broke and ran..._

"_Matau? Matau, are you alright?"_

He snapped out of his reverie at Sylvaticus's voice. "Y...yeah." he said softly. "Just thinkin'." She smiled understandingly. "I know, my dear. I know." She pulled him into a hug. Although shocked at first, Matau gradually eased his arms around her. She was...solid? Weird. But he didn't care about that right then. All he cared about was the strange comfort he was drawing from her embrace. Unbidden, tears sprang into his eyes.

"_I am so proud of thee, little one."_ she murmured, stroking his mask gently. _"Even more so than I ever was of my own son."_

"Really?" He looked up at her with such hopelessness, she was unsure of what to do for a moment.

But only for a moment.

"_Really, really. And I expect you to keep making me proud."_ She let go of him and rested a hand on his cheek. _"Remember, while all others may shun you for what you are, if you are proud of thyself, it matters not what they think."_ She began to fade again.

"_And one more thing, my child...my Blade cannot be held by the impure of heart. It resides within the heart of the one who may wield it now."_

"Who is it?" Matau asked. Then it hit him. "That's why they took Nokama, isn't it? Because she has the Order-Blade!" His eyes widened as he comprehended this. "If that's the real-truth...then Nokama's in more danger-bad than I thought!" He turned to Sylvaticus. "Please, Toa-Mother, tell me where the Order-Blade is! Who has it?"

She shook her head sadly. _"I cannot tell thee, little one. Thou shalt have to discover this for thyself. And I regret to say it is not within you. The very blood that makes thee special repels the Blade in this day and age. If you were to so much as touch it, you would most likely be driven mad."_

He shuddered. So basically, if the one destined to wield it wasn't the one to touch it, it would drive the victim insane? Natay was as close to "insane" as he had seen, and she wasn't even all that bad. Certainly not as bad as Onewa made her out to be. It scared him to think of true craziness.

"_Thou wouldst do well to warn thy friends...especially Vakama."_

His eyes snapped to hers. "What about him?" he asked. He REALLY didn't want to talk about that stupid fire-spitter right now.

"_I am only saying that because of his burning wish to rescue thy friend Nokama, he may resort to something...rash. As thee thyself have been prone to do, my child."_ She chuckled at the look on his face.

"_I will come to thee again tomorrow night, should you dream. Look for me, Matau."_

"Always...Mother."

She smiled and vanished.

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Typhon watched, enraptured, as Nokama continued to sing. She had a beautiful, soprano-ish voice with a vibrato at the end, as if she were singing underwater. It was, to put it lightly, absolutely beautiful.

She stopped suddenly and sighed. "What's wrong?" he asked, leaning forward. She sighed again.

"I'm...I'm just a little homesick, I guess." she murmured, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "I miss Mata Nui."

"That's understandable..." Typhon said thoughtfully. "I missed my home when I was sealed away by the Toa Mahi...but that's not the entire thing, is it?" His hands shot out, slamming her shoulders into the wall behind her. "You miss him, don't you?" His eyes burned into hers. "Don't you?"

"Miss who?" she asked, nonplussed. She bit her lip and glanced down at his hands. "Typhon...you're hurting me..."

"You know who!" he snarled, leaning forward. "The one who gave you that necklace! The one whose name you say when you sleep! Don't act innocent with me, Nokama. I can see inside you." His hands curled around her throat and began to squeeze. "What is he to you? Do you love him? Who do you love?"

"Typhon!" She struggled, to no avail. "I can't...can't breathe!"

He dropped her so suddenly that she hit the floor. He scrambled away from her, one hand pressed to his chest, the other supporting him. "I...I can't believe I just did that..." he whispered. "I...oh Mata Nui...Nokama..." He pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry I hurt you," he murmured in her ear. "I'm sorry...forgive me..."

She resisted the urge to push him away. He was having a highly unstable moment, and he needed comfort...seriously. One more little outburst like that, and he might end up killing her.

His hands ran over her back as he spoke into her shoulder. "I...don't...know what's wrong...with me...I can't stop thinking about you..."

That was completely true. He didn't know what was wrong with him, and couldn't stop thinking about her. She was so important to him, it wasn't funny. If Hera or whoever looked at her wrong, he got angry. When Anubis talked of his plans for her when her purpose was served, his blood boiled and a stab of fear pounded through his heart.

Oh no...he wasn't...in LOVE with her...was he?

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"_I'm just a cross-wired freak who has weird dreams." He sighed and plonked down onto the floor. Her hand gripped his shoulder softly and she leaned against him, comforting him._

"_No you're not, Vakama. No matter what anyone else says, you're not cross-wired, you're not a freak, and your dreams aren't weird. OK, maybe so they are, but they're useful. That alone should make you feel better." She rested her cheek against his. He stiffened, heart skipping. She was so close to him..._

"_Nokama..."_

"_Rest now, Vakama. We've got another big, tiring day ahead of us." She stood up and walked away._

_He stared after her, his heart pounding for some reason._

Hestia retreated out of this dream. It was the wrong one, belonging to a red Toa, who was sleeping in the crow's nest. She had no clue why his heart would pound like that; all that girl – Nokama – had done was touch him, and he couldn't breathe. The next one was confusing as well. A black void, with a strange, unintelligible voice echoing through it. Then came another one, one from somebody she recognized. She smiled. What an interesting dream this was...

"_Onewa..." the orange mutant Toa smiled at him. "Good job. Yore improvin' a lot faster'n I expected."_

_Once again, a thudding heart, this time from a powerful-looking brown Toa. He smiled shyly. "Thanks, Natay."_

So Natay should be close...there! Grinning madly now, Hestia dove deep into the dream.

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**Featured Song: "I Must Be Dreaming" (Theme of Nokama) – Evanescence**

**AN: So yeah I'm back till later today. Then hopefully back again soon, but if not, look for me in two weeks from yesterday. I'll be back home then, and I'll be SURE to get on.**

**I don't like that chapter much, but whatever. Natay has been discovered by Anubis and Hestia, and now Hestia is going to harass her. How nice. -maimed by the real Natay- Ahem. Thanks again for the kind reviews, they really make my day. I miss updating this story every couple days, I really do. Not to mention Truth-or-Dare and Friendship Strained...VV -puts squirt gun to head and shoots-**

**Message from my brother: liek omg hi! im sayas brother lol!**

**So...any reviews for me?**


	12. Chapter 11: Nightmare

**Uh yeah hi. -destroyed- I'm still here, no need to panic...yeah. Painmaker Chapter ELEVEN coming up lol :)**

**Two stories updated in one day? Jeez, I must be sick or something...ahaha XD Wait a minute, why is this paragraph indented? Weird.**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Eleven: Nightmare**

"_Isn't that sweet?" Osiris gestured towards the form of Nidhiki, singing goodbye to the laughing Natay on the shore as he was dragged onto the Makuta by Lhikan and Teeboe._

"_Goodbye, my dear,_

_I'm gone for now_

_Goodbye, my dear,_

_Wait a minute, I'm still here_

_Don't pine for me, my friend_

_I'll be here once again_

_Look for me at the first light_

_And I'll come back to you_

_So I will."_

_The Toa of Death plucked an imaginary flower and sniffed it, remarking dreamily, "The young Toa's singing bye-bye to his girl."_

"_Good thing he already did it." Typhon nodded. "Saves us the trouble of lettin' her know he's not comin' back."_

"_But the song said he would." Set pointed out._

"_Maybe it's like a figure of speech," Osiris offered._

"_SILENCE!" suggested Anubis in a fierce whisper. All three shrank back silently as he glared at them. "If any one of you blows this, I will personally disembowel all of you. Am I understood?"_

"_Yes sir."_

"_Indeed you are, Anubis."_

"_Completely."_

_A smile curled Anubis's mouth. "Good. Now let's show those Toa the real meaning of CHAOS!"_

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Onewa paused in the doorway of Natay's room and hesitated. He really shouldn't be doing this. If she found him in her room at this hour...well, let's just say he'd probably be dead. But he had to talk to her. He couldn't explain why. Just some weird niggling compulsion that drove him out of the cabin he shared with Vakama, up the steps, and into her room. He didn't know why, but he didn't care. Just being around her right now was...intoxicating.

Silently, he stepped into the room, quietly propping the door open and walking to her bed. He blinked as she whimpered slightly, shuffling around. She had rolled over so many times that she had gotten tangled up in her bedsheets. He smiled fondly, and then shook his head. No way! Natay Hordika was as gross as gross could get, yet here he was, thinking how adorable it was when she slept. He laid a hand on her shoulder to help her untangle, when her claws shot out, grabbing him around the neck and pulling him down.

He just barely suppressed a yelp of surprise and prepared himself. Mata Nui, he was dead. She had caught him in her room, and touching her, no less. He'd be lucky if any of him was left after that. Then, hearing her snuffle, he peeked up at her face.

Great Spirits, she was still asleep. Vaguely, he remembered Nuju telling him about reflexes and sighed with relief. He wasn't going to die, dear Mata Nui...

But no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't get free. And no wonder. That little grab of hers had dragged him under the covers with her, and now he was just as entangled as she was. Natay mumbled something in her sleep, and tightened her hold on him. He tried to calm his rapidly beating heart as he assessed the situation.

If she woke up to find him here, he was dead. If she saw him period, he was dead. If anyone ELSE saw him here, he was dead. And if he woke her up while negotiating his freedom from the sheets, he was dead. It wasn't a very promising situation.

Onewa sighed again, resigning himself to a night down here and a hard beating when the sun rose and Natay awoke. She'd probably make him eat Visorak again. Oh well. At least his constitution was strong...

At this moment, Natay gave a small yelp and clutched him tighter, rolling around again. Onewa just barely managed to avoid being smothered as the Hordika twisted and turned, giving out little cries of distress.

Perhaps something was bothering her? Maybe she was too hot or something. No, that couldn't be right, it wasn't even all that hot. At least not compared to Po-Koro or Po-Metru. Or maybe it was her dream. He wondered if his mask would allow him to see into her mind as well as control it. Deciding to give it a shot, he lightly probed at her mind, wincing at the bright glow it gave off.

He was shocked when it actually worked. Delving deeper, he landed lightly on what appeared to be grass. His eyes widened. Toa Lhikan was there, jabbering cheerfully around a campfire with eleven other brightly colored Toa. Next to him, a pretty blue Toa laughed merrily and entwined her arm with his. The green Toa on his other side said, "I'd like you all to joy-meet Lhikan, Toa-hero of happy-love!" The rest of them, with the exception of Lhikan, roared with laughter at the look on the Toa of Fire's face.

"Shut it, Nidhiki," he growled, face very red.

Onewa's eyes widened even more. Nidhiki? As in the Dark Hunter Nidhiki? As in the Nidhiki that had tried to kill him and his friends? This Nidhiki was different; he was a tall, strong, green Toa, with deep red eyes and a happy grin on his face. The violet Toa sitting across from him hollered, "HECKYES!" causing more laughter.

"You have no manners whatsoever, Shruikan." Lhikan grumbled. "Try not to wake the neighbors, wouldja, big bro?"

The Toa called Shruikan laughed merrily. "Lighten up, you old stiff!" he said joyfully, tossing a stick into the fire. "Or we'll have li'l Natay over there make you!"

Onewa turned his gaze to the orange Toa wearing a Kakama for the first time and gasped. She was, for lack of a better word, beautiful. Bright orange armor, orange Kakama, chain sickle strapped to her back, glowing yellow eyes, and an even happier smile than Nidhiki's adorned her face. "You know what I can do, Lhikan," she grinned. "Lighten up already!"

Lhikan tried to look stern, but then a smile broke over his face as he began to laugh. "All right, all right, you got me," he chuckled, one hand over his face.

"Happy-joy is the best way to be, Lhikan-brother," Nidhiki smiled, arbitrarily stealing one of Natay's Bula berries. "If you're not treebright and happy-joy, then what good are you?"

"Berry thief!" Natay swatted his shoulder, laughing...

...a tall green Toa carrying a scythe on his back waved energetically to Natay as he sped by on a large motorbike. She laughed happily; Nidhiki had FINALLY completed the bike he'd been working on for the past two years. Beside her, Lhikan grinned and applauded, voicing his happiness at the success, while a white Toa wearing an Akaku and carrying a spear frowned worriedly like a mother Kane-Ra.

"He could get hurt." His voice sounded far away.

"Let him have fun, Terios." Lhikan smiled. "You know how long he's been working on that thing." He too sounded far away.

"Don't worry." Natay spoke for the first time. "He's a good driver." As she said this, the Toa of Air turned a perfect 180, wheels screeching, and zoomed back towards them. Hopping off before the vehicle had completely stopped, he crashed right into the trio, knocking them over. Laughing hysterically, they rolled around on the ground, tumbling like Muaka kittens.

"Gotcha!" Lhikan wrestled Terios to the ground, sitting on him. Terios struggled, laughing too hard to do anything.

Nidhiki found himself on top of Natay, and, for a moment, froze. She gazed back up at him, yellow eyes sparkling, cheeks flushed. He blushed as well, looking especially nervous when she grinned. Then, she tackled him, knocking him to the ground. They rolled, laughing happily.

Lhikan and Terios stopped their wrestling match to look over at the two. Lhikan smiled knowingly.

"And thus, 'twas beauty that killed the beast..." Terios murmured.

To Onewa's displeasure, it sure looked like the Toa of Ice was right. There was a certain intimacy about the pair, one that seemed to go past friends...WAY past friends. Both were smiling too hard for it to be anything else. Onewa growled.

But then, Nidhiki threw Natay off, and stood over her, scythe across her throat. Natay gave a yell of fear and stared, terrified, up at the Toa of Air, who was grinning savagely.

Onewa stiffened. Something was there that shouldn't be.

Lhikan and Terios circled the orange Toa, drawing their weapons. She looked up at them in a mixture of terror and pain. Lhikan laid one of his great swords on her chest, while Terios's spear lightly tapped her hip, and Nidhiki's scythe touched her throat. She swallowed fearfully.

Onewa looked around, feeling the sudden change in the air. So this was what was upsetting Natay so bad: this...this...nightmare. Probing out with his mind again, he hit another consciousness, and it wasn't one he recognized. No Toa Metru would have such a dark mind as this. This one practically tore him down just TOUCHING it. It recoiled for a moment, then struck out at him, driving him to his knees. He struck back with all his might, feeling rather than hearing it cry out in anger. He struck again, feeling it recoil again, this time in pain.

"Show yourself, coward!" he challenged.

It did. Natay gasped in shock as her three brothers held in place. A black, red, and blue Toa materialized, clutching her head. Onewa growled again. "Get outta here before I MAKE you!" he snapped.

He recognized her, that Nightmare Toa from the beach in Ga-Koro! The one who'd kicked him in the ribs and scratched his armor! That scratch had taken DAYS to fix.

"It's you!" he spat.

She snarled back. "I don't know how you found me here, but rest assured, you're not gonna find your way back to the real world!"

Onewa sneered. "Yore pathetic, whatever your name is. Speakin' o' which, what IS yore name?"

"I am Hestia, Toa Itami of Nightmare," she sneered. "And I am just that – your worst nightmare!"

"I've seen worse." he sniffed. "But if there's one thing I WON'T allow, it's fer YOU ta torment HER like this!" He gestured toward Natay, who hung limply and in shock from the arms of Lhikan and Nidhiki.

Onewa? What was HE doing here? How had he gotten in? She bit her lip nervously. Just what in the world was going on?

"DIE!" Hestia shrieked, whipping out her javelin and charging towards the Toa of Stone. He vaulted over her, lashing out with his proto piton. It SHOULD have hit her in the back, but she blocked it with a backwards sweep and blasted him. He flew through the air, but managed to land on his feet. He raced towards her, this time making contact between her body and his piton. She staggered, one hand clutched painfully to her caved-in side. They circled warily, like Hapaka dogs about to fight to the death.

"Ready for me to kick your butt again?" Hestia taunted, making a rude gesture with her javelin. "Your chest was pretty hard, even for a Toa of Stone. Bet your head's even harder. With all that thickness, I'm surprised enough air gets in to feed that rock you call a brain."

OK, that was it. She had really done it now. No one, and he meant it, NO ONE, called him stupid, not even one of the most powerful beings ever known. Hardheaded, yes, but not stupid. He prided himself on being the best planner in the group with the exception of Nuju, and he was extremely protective of the title.

"You wanna see a nightmare?"

He was having a hard time controlling his temper, so much that he barely heard what she had said. All the hate inside of him...he could barely hold it down. He could feel his mind screaming at him to rip, tear, KILL her, maim her, destroy her for everything she had done, to him, to Natay, to EVERYONE.

Hestia smirked and strolled over to Natay. The three male Toa Mahi vanished like air, dropping the orange Toa to the ground. She looked up apprehensively as Hestia cupped her chin. "As pretty as you used to be, I don't like the fact that it makes you so happy. And as funny as it was to see you enjoy these memories, it's time for you to accept what you are." She grinned savagely. "The ugliest creature in the world..." Her eyes burned.

"A Hordika!"

Natay screamed as her Toa form vanished and was replaced with her true form, that of a Toa Hordika. "NO!" she screamed, tearing wildly at Hestia, who was laughing fit to burst. "STOP IT!"

"Put her down!" Onewa shouted, starting forward, proto pitons gripped tightly in his hands. He didn't know why, but Hestia's mistreatment of Natay had just increased his rage tenfold.

"THIS is a nightmare!" Hestia grinned, and Natay screamed again in terror. Before anything else could happen, though, Onewa darted forward and administered a heavy blow to the Toa of Nightmare's head. She dropped Natay as she was driven back several paces, gripping her dented mask tightly. She felt blood on her forehead and shrieked with rage and pain.

That HURT, by the Great Beings! REALLY, REALLY HURT!

She had no time to reflect though, as Onewa's piton smashed into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She choked and, summoning the last of her depleted strength, vanished back to her own body.

Onewa slumped, panting, to the ground. He had done it! He had defeated a Toa Itami by himself...and on her own turf, too! Once his breathing was normal again, he turned to Natay, who was slumped down on the ground as well. She looked at him fearfully, then cleared her throat and looked at her feet. Neither of them spoke for several minutes, then finally, she said, "...thanks then, I guess."

He smiled, causing her to blush for some reason. "No prob." She started to rise, but found she was too exhausted. "Here, let me." Onewa grabbed her up and brought her over to a nearby tree in her dreamworld. As he let go, she became aware of a red liquid streaming freely from one of his hands.

"You're bleeding!"

He glanced down at his hand nonchalantly, as though just seeing the huge cut. "Don' worry 'bout it. This's on'y a dream, y'know."

She blushed again, this time out of embarrassment. "Yes, of course. Speaking of which, how in Mata Nui's name did you get in here?"

He shrugged. "Y'looked like you were troubled, so I thought m'mask power might help me see wot was botherin' you. Turns out it worked. The rest you awready know."

She closed her eyes painfully as a few tears leaked out. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, leaning towards her. She shook her head, still not opening her eyes.

"I just...it felt so...GOOD, to be back here...back when I was still..." A harsh sob bit off the rest of her words. "Back when I was still pretty." she finished once she had recovered. She sighed and looked down at herself, clutching her tail-blade and using it as a mirror. "Hestia was right. It's time for me to accept what I really am." A tear slid down her cheek and landed on the blade.

"The ugliest thing alive!"

She smote the ground, sobbing. Onewa shifted uncomfortably.

Truth be told, he no longer thought her as ugly. At first, he had despised her, thinking her a disgusting animal with no true emotions or feelings anymore, and indeed, the ugliest thing alive. It had bothered him to remember that he had once looked like that, with the exception of some of her own unique physical traits, such as the ears, markings, tail, and back ridges. But now...now, she wasn't ugly at all to him. Not in the least bit.

"Yer blade must need shinin'," he heard himself say. He smiled as he picked up her tail-blade and shined it on his hand. "See? Not ugly, are ya?" He showed her her reflection again.

Natay smiled weakly. "Whenua said something like that to me the other day." she said.

Onewa's heart dropped in his chest. Great. His little speech had already been said, and by Whenua of all people. Suddenly, he wanted to be alone more than anything. He knew that if he was around her any longer, he'd end up doing something he'd regret later.

"I'd better get going." he said, standing up. Natay looked up at him, surprised and a little hurt. "Seeya tomorrow, Natay." He turned around and started to leave.

"Onewa, wait!"

He stopped, but did not face her. "What?"

She was silent a minute before he felt her claw touch his shoulder. Then she wrapping her arms around him, and his heart felt as though it was about to explode in his chest. Jeez, what was she doing? She didn't like him, so why was she hugging him? Yeah, he had just saved her life – AGAIN – but still, why?

"Thanks...for saving me." He could feel her breath on his neck. She was pretty short...shorter than him. It didn't help to improve the circumstances. She was so small, so fragile...he could shatter her into a million pieces with one swing of his piton...

...and then the feeling passed, and his hand reached up to lightly touch her forehead.

"Yore welcome."

A bright white light surrounded him, and he was gone.

Natay slumped to the ground again, and sighed, heart aching abominably. What had she done? He had been so supportive, almost cheerful, then he changed and said he had to leave? What was it she had said? She thought. He had changed when she had said that Whenua had also told her she wasn't ugly, but there was no WAY that that was the problem. As far as she knew, Onewa thought her disgusting. He hadn't exactly hidden it, to put it lightly.

She looked at the spot where her three brothers had held her down and sighed again. There was no indication that they had been there, but...She leaned down and felt the grass.

This was where her friend Nidhiki had stood. So tall and proud and strong and so...adorable. For more than a while, she had harbored a huge crush on the Toa of Air...and then he had betrayed the team. It had crushed her to know that. She hadn't been able to believe it at first, but the fact was there.

She'd been heartbroken...enough so as to go looking for him, to rescue him and bring him back to the team, to Metru Nui. But it hadn't gone as planned. She had been captured immediately upon arrival and tortured like a dog before a tall black female creature had requested her as a lab rat. And she'd been mutated into this...thing. Using the newly invented Hordika venom, the creature known as Roodaka had laughed as Natay screamed, the poison taking its toll on her fragile body. And when she'd emerged from the cocoon...the first thing she had seen was herself, now ugly...and then...

She'd seen HIM.

He was different now, just as ugly as her, but somehow she knew it was him, it had to be him, even though he was now some kind of insectoid creature and was lying on the floor, just as battered as she was. He'd reached out and touched her face with one pincer.

"Ni...Nidhiki?" she had croaked.

"Yeah?"

She swallowed. "Is this...really the end for us?"

He had been silent for a moment. "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not." He had to catch his breath before saying, "I hope not."

She had crawled over to him, laying her head on his chest and smiled painfully. It hurt so bad...but she was fine now. As long as she was with him...everything was OK. Nothing could go wrong as long as he was there.

He had coughed, passing a hand over his eyes.

"...I'm so sorry...this is all my fault..."

"No it's not," she croaked, shifting and failing to look at him, she was so weak. "None of this is your fault." His pincer claw gently stroked her head down to just between her shoulder blades, finding the change in shape...fascinating.

"My Natay, so heartless, so fearless, so emotionless..."

He coughed again, and she had had to struggle to look at him.

"And yet...the look on your face..."

His pincer stopped its comforting journey up and down her body.

"I could swear it was PITY..."

With a cry of pain, he had wrenched himself up and threw her out the window and on to the shore below.

She had awoken with Lhikan standing over her, worried out of his mind, and somehow back in Metru Nui. Natay had no idea how she had gotten there, but she didn't care. All she had cared about at the time was the fact that she was home, home at last after a long and perilous three month journey to the Dark Hunter stronghold.

But...Onewa was as different from Nidhiki as chalk was to cheese. And yet...she was starting to feel for him the same way she had about Nidhiki. She had felt so...safe.

Natay shook her head. She wasn't safe. Not anymore, not even in her own head.

The Blade of Order. It was the only way to defeat the Itami, she knew. It had been the only way before, and it stood to reason that it would be the same now. She had no clue where it was, but she had a good idea. Vakama had said something about the Toa Itami wanting something known as such, and she had known. That was why they had taken that Water Toa. She must have had it. It was the only reason they would need her.

But where was she hiding it? Natay honestly had no answer to that. The Blade of Order was a mysterious thing, that could be found only in times of direst need, and that could never be destroyed. Lhikan had tried many times, so had all the Toa Mahi, but none had succeeded, not even when all twelve had combined all their powers.

They needed it again. From the sound of things, the Itami had only gotten stronger, and the Blade was needed now more than ever. And Mata Nui knows Vakama had no idea where it was, or even anything really about it. The only one who truly knew anything about it was Whenua, being the archivist he was. She smiled. Good. This fit in wonderfully. With hers and Whenua's combined knowledge, along with Vakama's leadership, Nuju's smarts, Onewa's strength, and Matau's recklessness, they were sure to win.

She was fairly sure she knew who the Blade's next master would be. It was obvious. Who ELSE would it choose?

Stretching out on the grass, she buried her head in her arms and closed her eyes.

Oh, she couldn't wait to fight the Itami face-to-face again.

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**Featured Song: "Thoughtless" – Korn**

**AN: Chapter Eleven, completed. A bit long for me, once again, but meh. Onewa vs. Hestia, and our favorite Toa of Stone comes out the winner. OnewaxNatay was in evidence here, but then it got messed up...again. Poor Whenua's causing relationship problems even when he's NOT in the room, lol.**

**The answer is 42. Now if I could only figure out the question...**

**Ever gone hang-gliding before? You should. I did it again today, and it was ultimately the scariest thing I have ever done, but still EXTRAORDINARILY fun.**

**Ahem. Reviewers get free hot chocolate, so review please. I WOULD give out cookies, but Whale Shark 7 has that covered, so I can't XD**


	13. Chapter 12: Beast

**I might consider doing a prequel-ish thing to this fic, about Lhikan and his team. Would that be a good idea? It's a definite maybe in my mind right now, so I'd like some opinions please :P**

**And...due to the fact that I've been doing WAY too much OnewaxNatay, this is gonna have some VakamaxNokama in it. Huzzah!**

**PS: The song at the beginning of the last chapter was one I made up.**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Twelve: Beast**

"_We need a leader." Terios's voice echoed slightly in the chamber. "We defeated the Kanohi Dragon without one, but the time has come for us to choose. We cannot survive otherwise. This...Painmaker is too strong for us NOT to have one."_

The Toa Mahi nodded their agreement. "But who?" Raura asked. Terios turned towards the Toa of Crystal slightly. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "But surely he-"

"_Or she." Natay interrupted._

"_OR she," the Toa of Ice went on, rolling his eyes, "would have to have experience leading, and be wise enough to make the right decisions. Who here has all that?"_

"_Shruikan." Vastor spoke up. All eyes turned towards the Toa of Thunder, who, so far, had been silent. He turned his eyes up to look at them. "He's the oldest, and the strongest in power." Vastor continued. "And he's had experience leading others." The group nodded._

_Shruikan spoke, with none of the usual cheer. "I disagree."_

"_What?" Aruna sounded shocked. "Why not? You're the best choice, Shru. Why won't you?"_

"_It's not my place to lead us." He shook his head. "I may have experience as a leader, and yes, wisdom to make the right decisions, but I am not the one destined to be our leader."_

"_Then who?" Lhikan asked. Why didn't his older brother want to lead? He had always joked that if he were a Toa, he'd rule the team with an iron fist when they were still Matoran, living together in the village of Ta-Mahi. Shruikan had been the best blacksmith on the island, any work of his was immediately sold as soon as it hit the shelves. And he had raised Lhikan from the day he was first built. Their builder had named them Shruikan and Lhikan to show their brotherhood, and Lhikan worshiped his brother. Why wouldn't he accept the position they were offering him?_

_It was then that he realized Shruikan was smiling at him. Smiling in that way that said, "Don't be stupid." The rest of the Toa Mahi followed his gaze, and soon, they were all staring at him._

"_Oh..." Kaylani murmured quietly. He blushed at her intense gaze._

"_No way." Nidhiki sounded shocked. "Are you fool-kidding me?"_

"_I'm not." Shruikan replied, still smiling. "I'm not the right one to lead this group...but the one who is..."_

"_M...me?"_

_Upon his brother's affirmative nod, Lhikan felt a new burst of confidence come over him. Out of all those who could have been chosen, he was the Toa of Fire, and now leader of the Toa Mahi. It was the most honorable position anyone could be given without being made a Great Being._

"_Well, little brother?" Shruikan asked, reaching out his fist. "Do you accept your duty?"_

_Lhikan looked at him and then gently touched his fist against his._

"_I do."_

"_Leaderless no more!" Nidhiki shouted joyfully, leaping up and knocking his chair over. "Now we are right-true Toa-heroes!"_

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Nokama lay on the hard floor of the ship, unable to sleep. She was alone, for once, and had never been more grateful for the absolute privacy. She shivered, drawing herself into a ball.

That little outburst of Typhon's had terrified her to no end. For a minute there, she had really thought he was going to kill her. His hands around her throat, squeezing mercilessly...the feral madness in his eyes, the way his mouth snarled out the words...just thinking about it scared her.

She was honestly beginning to doubt that she would ever be free. Typhon talked ceaselessly of what would happen after the Itami took over, and she had no doubt that he desperately wanted it to happen. But the way he included her in his visions unnerved her. It was almost as if he...was in love with her. But he couldn't be. She had heard the other Itami squabbling about who was more heartless, and Hera had won out, finally getting angry enough to spray the others with acid. Luckily, Nokama had been there to heal them, but the fact remained that they were all practically incapable of real emotion.

Oh sure, they understood rage and hate. They knew everything there was to know about desire and greed. They constantly used their pride as an excuse for everything. They could understand vengeance and despair. But when it came to pure, unadulterated, true emotions, they were clueless. Osiris had gone so far as to ask just what love was, to the consternation of the rest of them. When it came to true happiness, not the maniacal pleasure that seemed to come with any sort of destruction, they knew nothing. When asked what made her most happy, Hestia had blinked like it was obvious. Her answer? "Making others hurt."

Nokama shivered again. She was trapped aboard a boat with a bunch of sadistic, reckless, unpredictable, psychotic killing machines, the leader of which was strong enough to defeat Vakama in just two hits of whatever power he possessed. She still didn't know Anubis's element. The others all used their powers on a regular basis, but not their leader. No, he preferred to keep it a secret, for whatever reason, and none of the other Itami would tell her what it was, no matter how much she asked. Not even Typhon was willing to give up that information. And Anubis gave no clues as to what it was either. When he did anything, he did it with his one hand and hook, seemingly without the use of any special powers.

Was it possible he didn't have any elemental powers, just mask powers? Nah, no it wasn't. ALL Toa, regardless of who they were or where they were from, had elemental powers. Anubis's was just harder to decipher.

Her thoughts turned to Vakama. Was he alright? Had he survived being blasted off the dock in Ga-Koro? She seriously hoped so. She missed him so much, her heart constantly felt like it was being ripped in two. This wasn't fair. Why did it always have to be HER that suffered? Come to think of it, it WAS always her. She had been torn from her regular home and friends, beaten up by some giant talking shrub, had to fight three Rahkshi on her own, fight a shape-shifting Rahi that had stolen her form, been humiliated in front of the entire city, had to rescue her teammates, been mutated into a monster, fought an army of giant spiders, and then watched as their enemy escaped.

It bordered on amazing how much misfortune had fallen on them...but they HAD gotten lucky. After all, they'd gotten to go live on Mata Nui, hadn't they? And they'd gotten a chance to rebuild their lives until it came time for them to go back to Metru Nui. Nokama had purposely made sure hers and Vakama's villages were close together...just in case something were to happen, and they'd need to visit each other right away.

Yeah, right. She just wanted to be near him. He visited often, checking up on things and generally making sure she was OK. She didn't mind. Although sometimes she was a little exasperated at the fact that he seemed to think that she needed constant help with everything, she was always happy to see him. And always happy to know he cared enough about her to want to make sure she was safe.

But just how much DID he care? As far as she knew, his affection for her was friendly, brother-sister affection, nothing romantic at all. She thought he did, sometimes...when he'd give her that weird smile he seemed to reserve only for her. All awkward and shy and impossibly adorable. At least to her.

Onewa often teased Vakama about her when they were together, saying things like, "Oh jeez, Nuju, abandon ship! There's some serious stuff 'bout ta go on!"

To which Nuju would usually reply to with a death glare and an, "I don't care." Nokama chuckled. Nuju really was a stiff sometimes. If it didn't involve the stars or something to do with hero work, he usually couldn't be bothered with it.

And Whenua would nod and smile, sometimes laugh, as Matau jumped around, showing off and trying to impress Nokama with some strange acrobatic moves. It made her laugh as well; the Toa of Air was another strange one. She knew he liked her. It was just so obvious from the way he talked to her, the way he tried to be the best all the time, especially when he knew she was watching. And he flirted with her all the fragging time. Although...she had to admit, it was a little annoying. He usually put others down to make himself look bad, and that was a little degrading. She had especially not liked it when he had made fun of Vakama after crash-landing on Metru Nui right before meeting the Visorak hordes.

Hordika. She had overheard Anubis and that Nightmare Toa, Hestia, talking about an orange Hordika called "Natareda Mahi". According to Anubis, this Natareda was a formidable fighter, very experienced in battle, and extremely dangerous. Supposedly, she had been a part of Lhikan's team, and his second-in-command. And her power was pretty strange as well: Power Scream. Nokama had never heard of anything besides a Rahkshi possessing that element. It stood to reason that this Natareda would be every inch the beast that Anubis had described her as in battle.

Power Scream was a strange element. Although often mistaken for Sonics, it was more based on pure offense. Whereas Sonics could be used to mute as well as raise volume, Power Scream was its own volume, and could only get louder. It was a difficult element to control, made worse by the fact that if too loud, the user could be destroyed as well. Natareda had also been described as stark raving mad. Nokama had no doubt that this would be true, especially if she were a Hordika.

But enough about that. Would she be rescued?

Maybe.

Possibly.

There had been no mention of any anything besides the Hordika. And even though at first she had hoped Natareda was coming to save her, Nokama knew it couldn't be true. Natareda didn't know her, didn't know the circumstances. As far as she knew, this boat was probably just another trade vessel, going back and forth between the islands with the usual goods for sale. And there was nothing that had been said that Natareda was even on a boat. She could be on another island. She could be DEAD.

Hope was gone. Faith was gone. Even love had started to disappear. It was hopeless. If nothing had happened by now, then it wasn't going to happen at all.

She had to face it. Vakama wasn't coming for her, neither was anyone else. They were probably going on with their lives as usual, and not missing her one bit. _'I guess that's it then...'_ she thought, bowing her head. _'If there's been no news by now, then there's not going to be ANY news at all. Just face it, Nokama. No one likes you. You're just a lowly Ga-Metru teacher that talks too much. It's no wonder they haven't come for you. They don't even need you.'_

She remembered trying to get Vakama to become a leader. "You just need confidence." was what she had told him. "If you have that, then there's no way you'll fail to be a good leader."

"How am I a good leader anyway?" he had sighed. "A leader's supposed to save his team. You've saved me more than I've saved you."

She had laughed at that. Really and truly laughed. "Maybe so," she had smiled. "But the day will come when you can repay that debt. And I don't think it'll be too far in coming."

He HAD saved her, though. When she had fallen from the Coliseum, he had come in with his jetpack and caught her. She had been surprised, who knew that jetpack of his could go so fast? She'd been falling at roughly the speed of a speeder bike on full power.

Wait! Someone was opening the door! Oh well, it was probably just Typhon again. Nokama sat back, trying to muster up a smile for him when he came in.

It wasn't Typhon. A black Toa, with no shine or sheen whatsoever, closed the door behind him and stared at her from bloodred eyes. A red hook, poorly attached to his wrist, stood as a replacement for his left hand.

"Anubis!" Nokama breathed, and jumped up, instinctively reaching for her hydro blades before remembering they weren't there. She crouched into a defensive position, ready to fight.

Anubis stared at her, no emotion evident on his battered Kanohi. "You really think you can defeat me?" he asked.

Something told her that glaring at him would be a very bad idea.

"No." she answered. "I'm just...nervous."

"You have every right to be." His voice was flat. "After all, I'm going to kill you."

She started at this. Kill her! Well...it wasn't like she hadn't really expected this, but the way Typhon went on, she had almost come to believe that she really WOULD survive the ordeal. Whatever Anubis had planned for her, that is.

"How...are you planning...on killing me?" she asked. "You don't even know who I AM, but you already want me dead!"

"I don't care who you are." he snapped, for the first time showing some feeling. "All I care about is the thing that rests in your heart." Seeing her surprised face, he went on. "Didn't you know? I guess not. You have the Blade of Order within you. I need that Blade. And the only way to get it out of you is to TEAR it out." He smiled cruelly. "Having something ripped out of your heart would kill you, I assume, but I wouldn't know. I've only had something thrust IN my heart, not torn out of it." His smile vanished as he went on. "Unfortunately for me, the only place that accursed weapon can be...removed from you is Mt. Valamai, on that strange little island called Voya Nui. Don't ask why or how, that's just how it is. It is where Sylvaticus – curse her memory! – left me when she defeated me, her blade still stuck through my chest. And then dear Lhikan came along and pulled it out, freeing me. I was a fool then, I did not realize the Blade's uses. Instead, I scorned it, leaving it in his hands to use against me, and once again I and the Itami were defeated."

Nokama gaped. LHIKAN had fought the Toa Itami? THE Toa Lhikan, the one who had given up his power to make her and her team into the Toa Metru?

"You...fought Toa Lhikan?" she asked incredulously. But then...that meant... "Then you must have fought Natareda too." she finished.

Anubis laughed. "So you've been eavesdropping, hm? Yes, I fought Natareda, or Natay as she is better known. She gave me quite a lot of trouble in that war, yes she did...the scar on my back came from her." He turned slightly, revealing the long, jagged scar on his upper back, going from shoulder to waist. "She's coming, you know." he added, turning to face her again. "And I wouldn't doubt if she was coming for you, although how those insubordinate Toa found her is beyond me."

"Toa?" Nokama asked, feeling a bubble of hope swell in her mind.

"What did you expect, a Nui Rama? Of COURSE they're coming after you! I expected them to. It's in their nature, of course...to rescue those they hold dear." His eyes hardened. "But they are weak. Oh yes, the brown one may have repulsed Hestia, but that was only because they were in Natay's mind, not his, and she was unable to directly influence him. It will be a different story later. But you...you are different."

"How so?" She edged away, preparing for a sudden attack.

"Typhon seems to have taken a particular interest in you, little Toa." Anubis said softly. "He does nothing but talk of you all the time. Every waking moment he can spare is spent down here with you in this little cabin, when he would otherwise be engaging in...other activities. A strange one, my Fearmaker is...unlike the rest of my Itami, he has never been truly cruel, never killed for the sole pleasure of watching an enemy die. No, he must always have a reason to kill...like when he almost destroyed your little friend on the pier. That was on my orders; if I hadn't told him to, he wouldn't have swung that scythe."

Typhon, not a killer? But he was an Itami! They were killers, born and bred!...right? Nokama was starting to get a serious headache from all the twists and turns these strange people had.

"But lately, he's been even more passive than usual." Anubis continued. "And I think I know the reason." His hook shot out, burying itself in the wood right next to her neck.

"It's YOU!"

The room began to darken as a loud, swirling scream penetrated the air. His eyes, once bloodred, now glowed an impossible white, burning down into hers with an insane, raging hatred that banished all thought from her mind. His body was wavering, changing shape, then back to a lackluster black Toa again.

"I should kill you." His hand, now clawed like a Muaka's, clamped around her neck, squeezing. Nokama fought down panic unsuccessfully as she struggled. Mata Nui, this was too much like Typhon's outburst for her liking. The passive Toa of Shadow had just barely restrained himself from killing her; but would Anubis show the same mercy in the same situation?

Most likely not.

She gasped for breath, his grip tightening and the scream getting louder. Shadows danced in front of her eyes as his own burned into hers even more, promising that what he had in store was not very good.

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Vakama touched the speeder bike, tracing its curves with one long finger. It had black, orange, and silver parts to it, as well as a strange symbol etched into the bumper that he didn't recognize.

"That's my bike." Natay said fondly, coming over to it and stroking it lovingly. "It's been centuries since I've seen it."

"Who made it?" Vakama asked, smiling at her obvious delight at seeing it.

She didn't look up. "Nidhiki did."

"Nidhiki?"

"Mhm. He was quite tha rider in 'is time...pretty good builder too. All th'bikes n' machines in this room were built by him. It was his little workshop on the ship." She chuckled softly, remembering.

"He made ALL of these?" Nuju asked incredulously, looking over a long handheld telescope. It was a beautiful thing, pure white with a crystal lens and adjustable settings.

"Mhm." Natay nodded. "Even that there tel'scope yore holdin'. He made that fer Terios...Toa of Ice back then." she added, seeing his puzzled look. "He was a stargazer too. I loved 'im dearly, but 'e worried more'n a mother Muaka. Y'd sneeze, and seconds later he'd be there, offerin' a tissue and demandin' to give ye a system analysis. More often'n not, he was tha one with tha problem." She ran her claws over the handlebars of her bike again as Nuju examined the telescope further. "Go 'head an' keep it."

He looked up, startled. "What?"

"I said, keep it. Terios's dead, he can't use it no more, an' it's obvious you really like it. So I'm offerin' it to you."

"Can you do that?" Whenua asked, looking up from an elaborate drill. "It wasn't yours, so can you just offer it to him so freely?"

"It's my inheritance, t'do with as I like." Natay huffed. "We made an agreement that when a Toa Mahi died, his'r her possessions'd be equally distributed among the rest'v us. Seein' as I'm the only one left now that Lhikan's kicked tha bucket, all this's mine now." She glared at Whenua bad temperedly. "So yes I can jus' offer it to 'im. I sure's heck don't need it."

"Sorry." Whenua mumbled, Kanohi tinged a little red.

"Excuse me, sir, but you have to be a MAN to ride that." Natay said swiftly, hurrying over to Matau, who was about to jump onto a green and black speeder bike. He backed off, disappointed. "Sorrybad, power screamer. It's a nice bike. Who's was it?"

"That would be...Nidhiki's." she answered, voice going very small on the last word. Her eyes wandered over it, picking up every dust speck on its surface. "He used ta ride this thing like no other. No one c'd match 'im on this, not even th'professionals. He started out as jus' a little assistant mechanic, no idea he'd get so much power..." She sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't've taken 'im onto the team. Would've saved us a lotta grief, and maybe Shruikan and Kaylani'd still be alive, both of 'em."

"Who was this 'Shruikan'?" Onewa asked, speaking for the first time. He'd been silent ever since last night, when he'd saved her from the Toa Itami of Nightmare. "Y've mentioned him a coupla times, an' from what I gather, he was quite tha Toa."

Natay looked thoughtful as she adjusted the handlebars to the bike formerly belonging to Nidhiki. "He was tha Toa of Thunder, and a crazier, more fun-lovin' anythin' I 'ave yet to meet. He was the one who was S'POSED to be leader."

"But Lhikan was the leader." Vakama cut in, surprised. "That's what you told me, right?"

"Shruikan 'ad 'is quirks." Natay shook her head. "He didn't wanna be leader; said 'e wasn't cut out for it. So 'steada takin' it like a man, he went an' gave it up in favor of 'is brother."

"But if Lhikan was the leader, and Shruikan gave up leadership in favor of his brother, then that must mean..." Nuju trailed off, shocked.

"Yep." Natay smiled. "Ever wonner why their names sound so much alike? Lee-kon. Shru-ee-kon. Shruikan was Lhikan's older brother."

"Lhikan had a flesh-brother?" Matau asked. "He never said..."

"He probably wanted to keep Shruikan's memory secret, so no one could tarnish his image, especially after what happened to Nidhiki." Whenua pointed out. "It was only natural of him to do so."

"Yeah." Vakama nodded at the Toa of Earth. "But why would Shruikan still be alive if not for Nidhiki?"

Natay's eyes flashed with pain before she answered. "Because, Nidhiki came back ta Metru Nui one more time 'fore tha whole false-Dume thing went on. He saw Lhikan and Kaylani admit their feelin's, and had a confrontation with Shruikan, who happened to be standin' guard nearby. Shruikan saw 'im about to attack 'em, and so 'e attacked first. Once he saw it was Nidhiki though...he wouldn't kill 'im. Just sat there an' LAUGHED while Nidhiki ran 'im through with 'is own halberd." She shook her head sadly. "That began tha decline o' the Toa Mahi. Rostu'd already taken a fatal wound in the Dark Hunter war, an' he died soon after. Then came Shruikan's death, then after that, Raura's...it just kept comin' and comin'. Soon, it was jus' me, Lhikan, an' Kaylani left, an' she was dyin'. Nidhiki'd poisoned her, y'see...when 'e found out she loved Lhikan an' not him. Kay was one o' the best Toa y'd ever meet. She an' Lhikan were the only ones to really accept me for what I am. Sure, the others still accepted me as their own, but they all treated me different...not Kay and Lhikan though, those two still talked to me like I was a Toa, and not a beast."

"You're not a beast." Whenua put in. He blinked in confusion when Onewa scowled at him, and turned back to the orange Hordika. "You've been kinder to us than anyone else we've met."

Natay laughed. "You're kind, Whenua, but your words mean nothin'. I'm a beast through an' through..." Her eyes lingered wistfully over her bike once more. "Nothin' could change it back then, and nothin' can change it now. I've accepted my fate. All I could do."

A sudden jolt rocked the boat and she was almost thrown forward, but caught herself in time. "Mata Nui, what was that?" Nuju asked, straightening his mask as he got up from the floor.

"Another Gargoshark?" Onewa asked nervously, fidgeting. Whenua smirked at him and elbowed him in the ribs. "Scared, carver?"

"Shove off."

Matau ran to the window and looked out.

"Dry-land! And Matoran...lots of them!"

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**Featured Song: "Suffocate" – Finger Eleven**

**AN: Hope you liked that chapter, cuz I sure as hell didn't. Anyway, that's a little of the Toa Mahi's past covered, along with some more of Lhikan's origins and a bit about Shruikan, his older brother. I know, I know – Bionicles don't have parents, but this is a TECHNICAL thing, they...uh...were built by the same person, yeah, that's it...actually, I don't know either, but whatever.**

**Reviews?**


	14. Chapter 13: Fate

**-screams- I HAD PIZZA TODAY! AND IT WAS GOOD!**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Thirteen: Fate**

"_YOU SHALL NOT ESCAPE!" the black creature roared, swinging one gigantic limb towards the Toa of Fire. "I WILL DESTROY YOU!"_

"_Strike!" Sylvaticus cried from behind him. Lhikan nodded._

"_This is suicide, alright..." he laughed bitterly. "Self-righteous suicide. But necessary." He leaped up into the air, the golden Blade of Order clutched in his right hand. The bloodred pommel stone pulsed faster and faster as he got closer to the beast that roared and struck out at him in a frenzy. But it was unable to touch him. Some shielding force, stronger than that of his Hau, protected him, prevented the gigantic claws from touching him at all._

"_I am Lhikan, Toa of Fire and leader of the Toa Mahi!" he roared, bringing the Blade behind his head. "This is for everyone you've ever hurt or killed! This is for my friends, who you've tried to destroy time and time again! This is for Sylvaticus, who fought you before! And this..." He brought the Blade around in a shining arc, preparing for the strike._

"_This is for ME!"_

"_LHIKAN!" Kaylani screamed, trying but failing to run after him. Teeboe held her back, his large hands gripping her arms tightly. "It'll be fine, Kay...don't worry." the Toa of Earth said reassuringly. "Lhikan won't die."_

_Sylvaticus's glowing red eyes got brighter._

"_STRIKE!" she shouted._

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Nokama gasped for breath, pinned under what seemed like a ton of Kane-Ra. She vainly tried to pull the hand from around her neck, but failed; it was too strong. Anubis's eyes, now a shining white, burned down into hers with obsessive hatred, bordering on the same passion she'd seen in the eyes of Roodaka.

"Anubis? What's going on in here?"

Thank Mata Nui, it was Typhon! The Toa of Shadow's eyes widened in horror as he saw what was going on. "Anubis, no!" he shouted, lunging forward and grabbing onto his leader's arm. "She's not supposed to die yet! Not yet! Anubis, STOP!"

"Ty...phon...!" Nokama gasped, her frantic eyes upon him. "Help...me..."

"REMEMBER THE BLADE!" Typhon screamed, bringing the handle of his scythe cracking down onto Anubis's head. The leader of the Itami stopped, his eyes dimming back to their regular red. The room began to brighten and his hand let go of Nokama's neck, dropping her to the ground. She gasped, one hand massaging her sore neck. Jeez, that was the second time in two days that she'd been almost strangled! What was up with her life and being so dangerous?

Anubis panted hard, staring at Typhon, who was shaking, but holding his ground. "Remember the Blade..." the Toa of Shadow whispered again, looking back at his leader determinedly. Anubis's chest heaved as he breathed.

"Yes..." he hissed, looking down at his hook and hand. "The Blade...must remember the Blade..."

"If she dies, then we can NEVER get it out of her, sir." Typhon said quickly, as if he feared another outburst. "I know you want it now, sir, but please...be patient. Please, Anubis."

He quailed as Anubis seemed to grow, towering over him with his 6'5 frame. "Patient, Typhon...?" he hissed, eyes glowing white again, although he remained under control. "My success is so close, and you tell me to be patient? Imbecile!" His hook flashed out, throwing Typhon off his feet. Typhon hit the wall ten feet behind him and slid down, completely winded. Anubis's foot hit him in the side, knocking him onto his back. His eyes widened in fear as his leader's foot stepped on his throat, cutting off his air.

"Do not make the mistake of telling ME what to do, Fearmaker..." Anubis snarled, eyes glowing brighter. "It will be the last thing you ever do. Am I understood?"

Typhon remained silent, staring up at him, fear evident in his gaze.

"I said, am I UNDERSTOOD?" Anubis shoved his foot down harder, and Typhon choked. "ANSWER ME!"

The Toa of Shadow began to struggle wildly, but was unable to throw him off. His mouth opened and closed, but only a gasping cry issued out. It was obvious he was on the verge of blacking out from lack of air.

"Stop it!" Nokama cried, running forward. She grabbed Anubis's arm and tried to pull him off. "Don't hurt him!" She gave a cry as his hand shot out, grabbing ahold of her necklace. "Let go!" she shouted, trying and failing to pull away.

"You accepted the Ta-Matoran's gift, yet you defend the Fearmaker like a lover?" Anubis asked incredulously. "Have you given up on your love so easily? If so, why you were chosen to carry the Blade of Order is a mystery." He stepped off Typhon's throat, watching as the Toa of Shadow tried to sit up, coughing hard as the air was restored to his lungs.

Anubis ignored him, now concentrating fully on Nokama again. "You accepted the Ta-Matoran's love, and yet are willing to attack ME to save Typhon? Just who do you love, Water Toa? Typhon or this Ta-Matoran of yours?"

"I don't know what you mean, but I don't love Typhon!" Nokama snapped, still struggling to pull away. She didn't see the agonized look on Typhon's face as she said this.

"Really now." Anubis let go of her pendant, and she stumbled back a little. "Typhon would do well to remember that then. You hear that, Fearmaker? She doesn't love you, get over your obsession."

"You said...if she survived...she could stay with me." Typhon grunted, gripping his bruised neck. "I...don't care if she...loves me or not...you promised she could...be mine."

"I said we would see." Anubis snapped, kicking him in the stomach. "I promised you NOTHING. The heart is a terrible thing to lose, Fearmaker. You should have remembered that before losing it to HER." He jabbed his hook in Nokama's direction, and the Toa of Water cringed unintentionally.

"Rest assured, Typhon Itami. If you ever dare to cross me again, neither you nor she will make it through my wrath. Am I understood?"

Typhon lowered his eyes as he slumped on the ground. "Crystally so, sir."

"Good. It's your turn on guard duty. I don't want to see you down here again until I say you can. Understood?"

"Understood."

They both left, leaving Nokama alone. She slid down the wall, letting the tears she had been fighting break free.

Mata Nui, she was going to die.

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"They're all armed." Nuju said nervously. "Armed with big, pointy sticks."

"Yeah, those're called spears, Nuju." Onewa frowned, crossing his arms. "How many of 'em are there?"

"Not sure." the Toa of Ice responded. "Quite a few though."

"What kind of Matoran?" Natay snapped, coming forward and taking charge. "Do they appear t'have a leader? What number would you assume they have?"

"Uh...it appears to be mostly Ta- and Le-Matoran, but there are some Po- and Ga-." Nuju replied, studying the crowd with his lens. "They don't look happy."

"They wouldn't." Matau supplied. "We're home-invaders."

"Let's go see what they want." Vakama interrupted. "They may be friendly."

They didn't LOOK friendly, was the thought that ran through all five of the Toa Metru's heads, although Natay still looked relatively calm. Each Matoran was tense as a drawn bowstring, and their faces reflected it. Not one smile was in evidence here.

"Uh heheheh..." Matau laughed nervously. "Hi!"

They didn't move, and the Toa of Air took a step back, thoroughly unnerved. Vakama stared impassively at each one, feeling the sense of fear and dread that seemed to radiate from all of them. Before anything could be done, however, a voice rang out through the silence.

"Hold fire!"

A short blue Turaga ran forward through the crowd, elbowing Matoran out of her way. She stopped in front of Natay and the Metru, panting slightly, and bowed low, her mask touching the ground.

"Welcome, Toa." she murmured. "Welcome." She straightened up, revealing bright yellow eyes and a Noble Mask of Levitation on her face. "I am Amara, Turaga of Kaia Nui. It is an honor to see some true Toa at last."

"True...Toa?" Vakama asked, suddenly suspicious. Amara nodded, clutching her staff tighter. It was a plain wooden shaft, he noticed, and the only decoration was the long sapphire blue cloth that was tied to the top end.

"Yes." she answered. "True Toa are truly a blessing...however, fate has it so that not all Toa are pure. The six who stopped here only the other day are perfect examples of this."

"You saw the Itami?" the Toa of Fire asked, excitement creeping into his voice. "Where are they now? Are they still here? Are-"

"They left as soon as they were done plundering our Suva shrine." Amara interrupted him swiftly. "I regret to say that we lost quite a few Matoran in the resulting battle." She looked at the ground, an enraged and sad look on her face. "What you see here are the survivors of our once proud community. We of Kaia Nui are strong, but when it comes to facing the Toa Itami...well..."

"You know the Itami?" Once again, Vakama was surprised. "How?"

"Of course I know the Itami!" she snapped. "What kind of Turaga would I be if I didn't? Anubis and his team of miscreants are monsters that deserve to die in the worst way possible." She looked at him and cocked her head to the side. "Speaking of which, why are YOU after the Itami? What did they do to you?"

"They took the girl I love." Vakama replied, his jaw tightening at the last word. "I want her back." Behind him, Matau winced.

Amara took his hand. "Maybe we should talk about this in my hut. Away from prying ears and eyes." Her eyes lingered over her Matoran, some of which shifted guiltily. Vakama looked back at Natay, who nodded affirmative.

"Anything goes wrong, an' we'll be right there, Vak." she said reassuringly. "No need ta worry. I'll keep the peanut gallery unner control."

Vakama smiled, following Amara away as the sounds of Natay already arguing with Onewa about her last comment reached his ears. He chuckled. And Onewa had called HIM obvious?

"Who was that woman?" Amara asked once they were safely inside her hut, which wasn't as big as most Turaga's, but bigger than the average Matoran's. "She seemed familiar."

"Her name's Natay, and she used to be the Toa Mahi of Power Scream." he replied, sitting down in the chair she pointed him towards. "Now she's a Hordika, half Rahi half Toa. But she's lost none of her heart."

"Natareda Mahi?" The Turaga began to laugh delightedly. In spite of himself, Vakama felt his temper rising.

"Shut up!" he snapped. "She's twice the hero you EVER were! If it weren't for her, we'd've been dead long ago!"

"Oh, I know that." she giggled, one hand pressed to her chin. "Back when the Toa Mahi were still big, she was known to be the toughest one out of all of them...the most beautiful too, besides Kaylani." She got a wistful look on her face when she next spoke. "It's just that..."

"That...?" Vakama continued, curious.

"It's just that, well, the poor girl's fate is something of a joke to us." she smiled. "She has one of the saddest destinies I've ever seen...although not as bad as that Nidhiki boy's. It almost made me cry, reading her future when the Toa Mahi stopped here on their first mission for supplies. Sad, sad indeed..." She shook her head, staring down at the deck of cards on the table in front of her. "These were the cards I pulled up for her..." She held up four cards. "The Kane-Ra, war-ravaged future. The Ghekula, unwanted transformation. The Bula berry, unrequited love. And...the Gukko bird, sacrifice. All horrible things to receive, but together...well, I think you can understand the enormity of it."

He nodded. He'd had no idea Natay was fated to such...misery. "Why is this her destiny?" he asked. "What did she do to deserve all that?"

"Nothing at all." Amara replied. "She was and still is a hero. Her beauty may be gone, but her soul has not changed in the least bit. What she has done to deserve this, I do not know. But it is what she is fated to, whether she likes it or not."

"Does she know about this?" he asked softly.

"No. The only one who knew was Lhikan, and he swore not to tell her or any of the others of their fates. All of the Mahi had surprisingly bad destinies, all ending in some kind of sacrificial death. Except Nidhiki's. I don't think Lhikan believed me at first when I told him the airhead would betray him, but it came to pass."

Vakama nodded solemnly. He remembered all too well everything Nidhiki had done. It was hard to believe he had once been a Toa, and a Toa Mahi at that.

"But enough about that." She turned to him, eyes shining brightly. "Would you like me to read your future?"

"What's the catch?" he asked suspiciously. "Will my destiny be horrible like Natay's?"

"Oh no," she laughed. "I can already tell yours is much happier than that poor girl's. So I'll ask you again. Would you like to know your future?"

He was silent before nodding. "Yes."

"Alright." She sat down, facing him and shuffling her deck of cards. "Heart of cards, chaos bane, show me the future in this name!" Her hand shot out, randomly drawing three cards. Vakama became aware of a sizzling in the air. It wasn't like his forge, or like the Mangai volcano at all. This was the sizzle of some serious magic going on.

He watched as Amara studied the cards, then laid them down on the table. Pictured on the four cards were a tall being carrying a sword, a pair of Gukko birds resting together in a nest with one clutching a branch in its beak, a proud, lordly Muaka, and, most surprisingly, a long golden blade with a red pommel stone.

"The Warrior, most obviously telling of a reckless lifestyle." Amara said, picking up the card with the sword-carrier. "The Muaka King, leadership. Those were the two obvious cards. Now this," she tapped the card with the Gukko birds on it, "this I haven't seen since Lhikan came to me to ask his own future. The Lovebirds, romance and happiness within it at its greatest. You have someone you love very dearly." She smiled. "And this..." Her smile turned to a frown. "This card has never come up, not once in my millennia studying the course of fate."

"Is that...?" He couldn't say it.

"The Blade of Order, the chaos bane." Amara finished for him. "It can mean only one thing: you are destined to a great act against chaos, I'm sure of it." She looked up at him, eyes shining softly. "You are the one destined to defeat Anubis, I just know it."

"It's what I had planned to do." Vakama replied. "I just don't know how. Natay told me we need the Blade of Order, but I don't know where it is! No one does. The only one who did was Lhikan, but he's dead."

"That Blade can only be hidden in the most pure of places...a fact Lhikan knew well. Yes, I know where the Blade is, and no, I'm not going to tell you." she added as he opened his mouth, presumably to ask just that. "It would defeat the purpose if I were to tell you."

"But-"

"No buts. All I will say is that it's closer to you than you think...all you have to do is look deep within your own heart."

She stood up, putting her cards back into the deck. "Is that all you require, Toa Vakama?"

He started. "Oh! Could you-"

Suddenly, he was knocked off his feet by a large set of teeth, and held struggling between them. His eyes widened in horror as he shouted for help.

"Muaka!" Amara screamed. "Muaka King!"

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**Featured Song: "For Whom The Bell Tolls (Techno Remix)" – The Prodigy feat. Metallica**

**AN: Well...ugh. Natay has a BAD future, woo. I just realized the fortune telling scene sounds a lot like the one from Eragon VV -bangs head against wall- All the GOOD ideas are already taken, ARGH! But whatever. Hope you liked.**

**And that pizza was AWESOME, it's the first pizza I've had in six fraggin' weeks. It had mushrooms :D**

**Reviews?**


	15. Chapter 14: Rapture

**Hmm-mmm...yes.**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Fourteen: Rapture**

"MUAKA!" Amara screamed. "MUAKA KING!"

Vakama struggled wildly in the beast's jaws, the remnants of the Turaga's destroyed hut falling in shattered pieces around him. It was HUGE. At least three times as huge as a Muaka was supposed to be. He kicked at it, connecting to its nose, but was not rewarded with anything except a roar and an increased pressure on his chest. He grabbed onto its jaw, desperately trying to keep it from puncturing his armor.

"POWER SCREAM!" He heard the Muaka roar, felt it be jerked back as an impossibly loud, high-pitched scream hit it directly head-on. The thing shook its head, jerking him around like a toy.

"Do NOT go near that thing!" Natay ordered the four Toa Metru on the ground with her as Vakama grappled with the Muaka. "It's distracted with th'fire-spitter, but give it tha chance n' it'll turn on you!" She jumped into the air, ignoring their protests, and slashed the giant Rahi on the cheek, then, using her large feet, bounced off its nose and onto its forehead. She drew her tail blade, glinting in the sunlight, and jabbed it into its forehead. It screamed again, tossing its head. Natay just barely managed to hang on, but Vakama wasn't so lucky. He was hurtled into the air.

The Muaka opened its mouth to catch him again, but Natay wasn't about to have that. She detached her sickle from its forehead and started to climb up it head.

"She'll never destroy it!" Amara cried from the ground. Whenua hurried over and heaved away the splintered wood and debris from around her, then helped her up. "It took the combined force of all twelve Toa Mahi to do it the first time, and she no longer even qualifies as a Toa!"

Whenua looked his team up and down. "Five Toa Metru oughta be good enough." he said. "'Scuse me, Turaga." He set her gently on top of one of her ruined shelves and began to issue orders. "Alright guys, action time! Matau, go catch Vak before he becomes a Muaka's lunch, Onewa, hit it in the ankles, they're weak there, Nuju see if you can blind it with some ice."

"What about you, earth-brother?" Matau asked, his wings unfolding. Whenua smiled grimly. "I'm about to rescue a power screamer."

Onewa growled angrily.

'_So this is it, then...'_ Vakama thought hazily. _'This is where it really ends. Never thought I'd die being a Muaka's lunch...what happened to my happy ending?'_ He saw the thing's jaws gape open underneath him and closed his eyes, preparing to be torn in two. But something hit him in the chest before he fell any farther, carrying him away to safety. He opened his eyes to see green-gold armor.

"Matau!" he shouted, as the Toa of Air carried him several feet away to the crowd of panicking Matoran. "Fire-spitter always needs help." Matau grinned at a Le-Matoran. The Matoran smiled shyly back.

Meanwhile, Onewa's proto pitons were hacking away at the Muaka's ankles, making it roar again. Natay yelped as she was thrown back and forth, clinging to its head for dear life. Onewa gritted his teeth, ignoring her, and swung his weapons again, listening to the enraged roar. It had thick ankles, Mata Nui. Suddenly, its left back foot raised and gave him a mighty kick. He flew back and hit the remnants of the Turaga's hut, sliding down, completely winded. The Muaka lowered its head, roaring and preparing to scoop him up in its jaws.

Then, a blast of ice hit in the eyes, and it reared, screaming in pain and shock. Nuju stood in front of Onewa, his white armor gleaming. He turned to face his friend, a smile on his face. "You alright?" he asked. Onewa nodded groggily, staggering to his feet.

"RGH!" Natay screamed, clinging to the beast for dear life. She dug her claws in as it shook its head frantically, trying to shake her off. She climbed up to its ears, knowing she was going to regret what she was about to do. Pulling her own huge ears to her scalp, she took a deep breath – and screamed down its right ear, as loud as she could. She regretted it immediately as the thing roared again, tossing its head and sending her flying into the air. It opened its mouth below her, waiting to catch her and eat her.

"NATAY!" Onewa screamed, trying to run forward but being held back by Nuju.

Then – "Eat THIS!"

The Toa of Stone and Ice watched in dumb shock and satisfaction, respectively, as Whenua came out of seemingly nowhere, delivering a crushing blow to the monster's chest. It reeled, and Natay dropped right into the Toa of Earth's waiting arms. He set her down and called up into the air, "Vakama, go for it!"

Vakama, being held in the air by Matau, nodded his affirmative and powered up his disk launcher. "FIRE!" he shouted, releasing the disk. The disk, a high level fire-powered one, burst into flame as it hurtled towards the Muaka. It struck true, right in its chest. Matau threw his leader up in the air as he powered up for his own attack.

"AIR!" he yelled, unleashing a gale-force wind at it.

"ICE!" Nuju shouted, shooting ice from his crystal spikes.

"EARTH!" Whenua slammed his earthshock drills into the ground, causing an eruption of flying dirt right under the beast's feet.

"STONE!" Onewa added his own power to the mix.

And finally...

"POWER SCREAM!" Natay let out her trademark scream, releasing it louder than any in the vicinity had ever heard before. The six powers mixed, and there was a flash of blinding white light.

Matau caught Vakama with a loud grunt and floated to the ground. He set his leader down and slouched, tired. Whenua pulled Natay up into a standing position and patted her back. "Thanks, Natay." he smiled. "That one last bit of power was what we needed."

Natay smiled tiredly. "I've been waiting to do that again for centuries now. That beast's lost none of its temper since th'last time I saw it. Have you, monster?"

The Muaka didn't answer her, as it was completely and totally unconscious. Natay chuckled and went over to Onewa and Nuju. "You OK?" she asked kindly. "I saw tha hit you took, rock-smasher. Pretty impressive, I gotta say."

"R-really?" He couldn't control the stammer in his voice with her so close to him. She thought what he had done was impressive? Onewa, one, Whenua zero! "It was nothin'." he heard himself say. "I woulda done anythin' to bring that thing down for ya, Natay."

Behind him, Nuju snickered. He turned and glared at the Toa of Ice in a passable imitation of the famous death-glare and then turned back to face Natay again. She was smiling at him. His heart began to pound again.

"...thanks, Onewa." She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He felt his face go bright red and stumbled for an answer.

"Uh – um – I – uh-"

Thankfully, he was saved by Matau's loud whoop of, "WOOHOO! Toa-heroes at our best, eh guys?"

"I'll say." Vakama smiled. "To bring down a Rahi that size was no mean feat, not even for five – uh – six Toa."

"We took on the Visorak alone." Nuju pointed out.

"With the help of Keetongu and the Rahaga." Whenua added. Nuju death-glared at him, and he shut up, to the amusement of everyone else. No one messed with Nuju's death-glare.

"Toa?" The six turned around to see Turaga Amara standing at the head of the Matoran, looking completely in awe. "I knew it." she said. "When I said you were destined for great things, Vakama, I meant every word. Yours and your friends' act just now PROVES it." She smiled. "If there is anything we can do for you, please let us know. We will be more than happy to help. Especially you, Toa Whenua."

"Me?" The Toa of Earth looked nonplussed.

Amara nodded. "Yes. It was your idea that took the Muaka king down, was it not?"

He turned red. "Uh, I guess it was."

"Do you have anythin' to e-"

"We need to get going." Vakama interrupted Matau firmly. "Every minute we spend here is a minute the Itami are using to get away faster, Nokama with them. I can't delay any longer, Turaga. I'm sorry. If you could provision us, we'd be much obliged."

"Oh..." She looked slightly disappointed. "I was going to have a feast in your honor, but since your need is so great-"

"Wait a minute, did you just say FEAST?" Onewa's jaw dropped open.

"I believe I did." She smiled, looking a little confused. All five male Toa now had the same ravenous look on their faces. Natay chuckled behind them.

"In that case..." Matau and Onewa grabbed Vakama by the arms and started to drag him away. "Do you mind if we spend the night?" Nuju asked.

Amara laughed, watching the struggling Vakama as he yelled at his friends to let him go and that they had a mission to complete. "Not at all. Feel free to stay as long as you like. While we're preparing for your feast, we'll provision your boat again."

Nuju bowed. "That would be wonderful, thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me..." He took off behind Whenua and Natay, hollering about unfair advantages in races. Amara shook her head, laughing harder than before. They were so much like the Toa Mahi, it was unreal. Both teams had had insatiable appetites, and both teams had been able to defeat the Muaka King on their first try. Although...it had taken twelve Toa Mahi to defeat it, and only five Toa Metru. Although they HAD had a Toa Mahi with them. She looked at Natay's receding back, sighing.

The poor girl. To be such a good person, and have such a terrible fate...and it was coming for her soon. She was obviously teaching the five boys lessons unconsciously, but that seemed like a good thing, considering Vakama, Onewa, Whenua, Nuju, and Matau were possibly the most hardheaded and reckless group of Toa she'd ever met. Not even her own group had been THAT reckless as to take on the Muaka King head-on like that.

But it was a happy day. True Toa had finally arrived once more on Kaia Nui, and the leader of the team had the destiny of defeating Anubis Itami.

It had to be admitted.

Life was good.

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Even Vakama managed to enjoy the party, although he ate a lot more than he probably should have. Heck, they all did. It was in awe that the Matoran of Kaia Nui watched Onewa and Matau have an eating contest, ending with both admitting defeat when Natay joined the fray, stuffing more into her famine-fed mouth in one minute than either had in the last ten. Whenua struck up a humorous tale about the quest for the Great Disks, telling of how each Toa Metru had gone so far to retrieve the Disks, and braved many tales. Everyone in the vicinity laughed when he told of how Matau had crashed into the wall of the force sphere upon catching his Disk.

Although, when Onewa and Natay began to argue once again, no one noticed a certain red Toa quietly slip away towards the beach. Onewa's angry shouts of, "I FRAGGIN' HELPED SAVE YOUR LIFE, YOU STUPID RAHI!" and Natay's retaliating, "SAVED MY LIFE! HA! YOU DIDN'T SAVE ANYTHING, IT WAS WHENUA THAT CAUGHT ME-" followed him and he sighed. Just when things were starting to get better between the two, they struck up a new argument about something completely irrelevant. And Onewa had called HIM obvious?

He walked to the _Freedom_ and lightly ran his fingers over the metal frame. So cold...so...hard. This was metal. Metal had no feelings. Metal had no heart. Yet this ship somehow answered whenever Natay spoke to it, and even when he would talk to himself, or even accidentally say something out loud, he would sometimes hear it groan back at him in an answering tone. He had no idea what it was saying, but he knew it was saying SOMETHING. It spoke to Natay all the time. The Hordika could often be seen having long conversations with her ship, talking and gesturing energetically as though she were talking to someone right in front of her. She sometimes tried to teach Onewa to understand it, but so far the Toa of Stone was failing. Vakama snorted. Onewa was usually too busy paying attention to Natay herself to actually listen to what she was saying.

Unconsciously, his hand touched the area of his chest right over his heart. He pressed it down hard, feeling the organ beat in his chest with a slow, steady rhythm.

He had to admit, watching Onewa and Natay made him miss Nokama more than anything. Although he knew Onewa would never admit it, the fact that the one who COULDN'T admit his feelings had the girl he liked around while the one who WANTED to admit his feeling didn't made him increasingly frustrated. Maybe it was better that Onewa and Natay were together all the time, but with the way that things were going when he had left...well, they hadn't looked happy. Indeed, Onewa looked angrier than Vakama had ever seen him.

He leaned against the ship and heaved a huge sigh. Mata Nui, he missed Nokama so much right now, he felt like he was about to die. She was everything to him, his light, his sky, his EVERYTHING. She was the woman whose voice was his only music, whose breath was his only air, whose face was the only beauty he would ever see. And until just about a week and a half ago, he had been too stupid to admit it. And right when he had been about to tell her how he felt, she was taken from him...and he had been blasted out into the ocean like yesterday's trash.

She had accepted his pendant. That thing had taken him the space of an entire three months to make. Finding the right metal had been hard enough, but the jewel...he shuddered at the hardships he had faced to find that big red jewel. But he had found it, and when he had completed the pendant, he could honestly say he had done good. And her reaction to it was...good, to say the least. She had loved it, had been wearing it ever since...so that meant she had to care about him the way he did for her...right?

At this point, he didn't even care if she returned his feelings or not. He just wanted to find the Blade of Order, kill Anubis, and rescue her. Then he would say what he had wanted to say on the pier. Then he would tell her how badly he needed her.

But where was the Blade of Order? Matau had voiced his opinion that it was inside of Nokama, which made sense. The Itami had taken her BECAUSE they thought she had the Blade, although WHERE she was keeping it was a mystery. As far as Vakama knew, they were in a territory where no Toa Metru had gone before, as Matoran, Toa, or Hordika.

So where in the world were they going?

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"YOU STUPID RAHI!" Onewa shouted. "I can't believe you! I fraggin' saved your life, and this is the thanks I get?"

Natay sneered at him angrily. "Darn right this is tha thanks you get! I have no time ta put up with yore arrogance, rock-smasher! Why are you acting so...so...STUPID all of a sudden? What in tha WORLD did I do t'you to make you hate me so much?"

The Matoran, Turaga Amara, Whenua, Nuju, and Matau watched in silence as the two continued to fight. Nuju sighed. He'd known things were building to a head between the Toa of Stone and the Hordika of Power Scream, but he'd really hoped it would have waited until AFTER they were back on the boat, away from anyone else. It was embarrassing. Apparently, neither had any such qualms. He watched impassively as Onewa's eyes flashed with rage.

"I don't need to put with you." Natay said. "I've gone through enough CRUD in my life without YOU givin' me more, an' I refuse to be a party to this. So screw off!"

She knew the comment would get a response from him, but she had expected him to be angry and tell her how stupid he thought she was. But the look of shock and hurt ran across his eyes before he masked them. Luckily, she caught them both.

Onewa took a deep breath, fighting the stabbing pain in his heart at her words. So she didn't need him, huh? Oh, that's right. She didn't need him because WHENUA was there. The bastard was standing there right now, looking at his feet as though they were the most interesting things on the face of the planet.

"Fine then." he said angrily. "Fine. You don't need me, I don't need you. I see how it is."

Natay sighed. "Onewa, I didn't mean it like that. I meant I didn't need yo-"

"It's obvious I'm jus' a bother to ya, so from now on, I'll leave you alone. That sound fair? That way, you and Whenua over there c'n get as fraggin' COZY as y'like, an' I won't stop ya."

"What?" Whenua looked up, looking for all the world as though he'd just been slapped across the face.

"Jus' don't expect my help anymore, cuz it's obvious y'don't need it. I know you hate me, so I'm just returnin' the favor. That OK with you?"

"You stupid fool." Natay's voice rasped out from between her teeth.

Onewa rounded on her, all the hurt and anger of the past few days pouring out of him. "I'M the fool? YOU'RE the fool! I'm not th'one who talks t'boats an' has no life anymore! I'm also not the ugliest thing alive, am I?" He sighed angrily as she gasped. "I don't even know why you bothered to thank me for saving you. It's obvious you wish you hadn't, but whatever. You don't need me, I don't need you."

He looked up at her and was surprised to see her eyes swimming with tears. "When you told me you would do anything to protect me, I believed you." she whispered, tears pouring down her face. "I see that I was wrong. You don't care about me at all. I'm sorry. You must think I'm a fool." She turned away, hugging her arms to stop her hands from shaking.

"I'm leaving." she announced, looking at the other three Toa Metru. "See you later."

"Natay..." Matau began, placing a hand on her shoulder. She slapped it away and ran off, leaving a large slice in the ground where her tail blade had hit.

Onewa fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands. Silently, Nuju strode over to him and put his hands on his shoulders. "Onewa." he said. "Onewa, look at me."

The Toa of Stone didn't look up, just remained in that same position with his face hidden. No sound came from him. Nuju sighed and shook him hard.

"Onewa Metru, look at me!"

And so Onewa did. He looked up, and Nuju started in surprise. His friend's face was even more tear-streaked than Natay's had been, and his eyes...

His eyes burned with more pain than the Toa of Ice had ever seen. Nuju smiled softly and relaxed his grip.

"I know it hurts," he said gently, as a loud sob escaped the Toa of Stone's mouth. "I know it hurts, but the only thing you can do is take it like a man. And unfortunately, you didn't take it like a man. I'll be surprised if she ever really talks to you again."

"Shut up." Onewa's voice was small, weaker than it had ever been heard before.

"No, I will NOT shut up, not until I've said my piece. You're better than this, Onewa. You didn't have to push her away to stop yourself from hurting. But you did, and it'll be a miracle if she ever accepts you back now."

"Rock-smasher can't admit he's in love," Matau snickered. Whenua elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Shut up!" he snapped. Matau shut his mouth immediately.

"Dude, I know this is killing you right now, but please, for Mata Nui's sake, get up and come on. We all need to get some sleep." Nuju helped the Toa of Stone to his feet and began to drag him off. Amara spoke softly.

"Toa Whenua, Toa Matau, would you be so kind as to help us clean up?"

"Gladly." Whenua replied, smiling at her. "Sorry for the...uh...spat back there."

"Not at all." Amara shook her head. "I know what love can do to the heart. What Toa Onewa's going through is natural, and so was his reaction. Although...if he truly believes what she feels for him is anything less than what he feels for her, than he is a fool, plain and simple."

Whenua nodded. He understood perfectly. He'd already been suspecting that his friend had more feelings for the power screamer than he let on, but the outburst a few minutes ago had proved it. "Alright, let's get this show on the road." he said, beginning to gather up trash. "Matau, help me, wouldja?"

"Right away." Matau bent and picked up a squashed Bula berry from the ground.

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"She's not the murderer." Onewa muttered once he and Nuju were safely away.

"What?" Nuju looked at him quizzically.

"She's not the murderer." Onewa repeated. He took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I am."

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Vakama was awoken by the sound of someone sobbing, and he sat up in the sand, blinking sleep away from his eyes. He saw the hunched-over form of Natay staggering up the _Freedom's_ ramp with none of her usual enthusiasm upon seeing her beloved boat. "Natay?" he called, running up the ramp to her. He grabbed her arm, and she collapsed against him, crying hysterically.

"Natay, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned, as tears continued to pour down her face and splash onto his chest. She didn't answer, only cried harder, clutching him for support as she did so. "Oh, Natay..." he murmured, understanding suddenly. "Don't cry...it's OK, just don't cry...please."

In all honesty, he couldn't STAND it when people, especially girls cried. It just made him feel so helpless, it was unreal. Now was no exception. Seeing Natay Hordika, the mighty Toa Mahi of Power Scream, cry was like watching the world come down around his ears.

And so, he held her as she cried away all her pain and hurt, just holding her until she had cried herself out.

And right then, Vakama understood just how destructive love could be.

Natay spoke then, so softly that he almost didn't hear her.

"They've always said that Toa don't cry...but I'm not a Toa." Her grip on his arms tightened as another sob escaped her throat.

"I'm a BEAST."

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**Featured Song: "To End The Rapture" – Avenged Sevenfold**

**AN: Went to the water park in Reno today...had a lot of fun, screamed myself raw, got rid of my farmer's tan...yeah, I'm happy. :)**

**Anyway, Onewa's a bit of a -insert expletive here- when he's jealous, eh? Completely lost Natay's trust here, he did...bad Onewa! -hits with a rolled up newspaper-**

**Reviews?**


	16. Chapter 15: Reputation

**Hey you guys, I'm back! Miss me? XD**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Fifteen: Reputation**

"_I'll never get it..." Shruikan muttered, watching something._

"_What?" Lhikan asked, following his older brother's line of vision. Shruikan gestured. "That."_

_Lhikan's eyes widened and he began to laugh. Aruna was teasingly flirting with Terios, who was looking decidedly nervous. Even as they watched, the Toa of Flora caught hold of his hands and dragged him into the water. Terios yelped and tried to scramble out, but Aruna had him too tight for him to get away. He sighed and splashed her lightly, making her laugh._

"_What?" Lhikan teased. "You jealous of Terios?"_

"_No." Shruikan frowned. "But you have to admit, little bro..."_

"_Admit what?" the Toa of Fire smiled._

_The Toa of Thunder began to laugh. "The geeks get the girls."_

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Onewa tossed and turned on the floor of the cabin, writhing in what would seem like impossibly agony. Next to him, his bed remained unmoved, the blanket hanging off it where he had rolled off. The Toa of Stone moaned, waking his companion up.

Yawning hugely, Vakama looked over at the other bed and gave a start. Where was Onewa? Then, hearing the thrashing, got up and looked. He chuckled. "Bad dream, eh carver?" he laughed, taking a hold of his friend's elbows and pulling him back onto the bed. "Can't say you don't deserve it."

He attempted to drape the blanket back over him, but the older Toa's thrashing proved too much. The blanket was swiftly tossed halfway across the room.

Vakama sighed. Well, at least he didn't have to put up with Matau talking in his sleep anymore.

He climbed back into his own bed just in time to see Onewa hit the floor again, still rolling around wildly and crying out.

"Darnit, Onewa, what is WRONG with you?" he growled, getting up again. "This is costing me my sleep."

Seeing the Toa of Stone's agonized face, he began to worry. "Onewa, wake up!" He shook his shoulder, but to no avail. "Onewa!"

Onewa bolted up so fast Vakama had no time to think. In a trice, he was scrambling away from his crazed friend. Onewa looked around the room feverishly, then sighed with what seemed to be relief.

"Just...just a dream..." With another sigh, he heaved himself back onto his bed and was asleep in an instant.

Vakama blinked.

"What in the world...?"

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"_Chaos and Order...Chaos and Order..."_

Matau hurried over to the sound of the voice and skidded to a stop. Just as he'd thought, Sylvaticus was there. She was sitting suspended in the air, rocking back and forth and singing. _"Chaos and Order, Chaos and Order, Anubis is Chaos and I am the Order..."_

She stopped when she saw her grinning descendant, and smiled. _"Silly little song I made up."_ she apologized. _"Think nothing of it."_

"I won't," Matau smiled. "But what did it true-mean? Anubis is Chaos and I am the Order?"

Once again, his ancestor smiled. _"Anubis and I were stellar opposites."_ she said. _"In everything with the exception of eye color. We both had red eyes. You have red eyes too, did you know?"_

"Somehow, it'd failed to escape m'notice." Matau replied, unconsciously tapping one eyeridge. "But back to the problem-point. What does your song-tune mean?"

"_Just what it sounds like."_ Sylvaticus answered. _"Whereas Anubis wanted – and still wants – to bring disaster to the world, I wanted to bring stablility. He was the Chaos, and I was the Order. I made that rhyme to remind myself of that."_

It suddenly hit Matau that he didn't know a thing about the leader of the Toa Itami except what he had been told by her and Natay. "Just what IS Anubis's bad-power?" he asked.

Sylvaticus smiled. _"That should be obvious."_ she said. _"Once again, my child, you prove yourself more of a doer than a thinker."_ Seeing his exasperated look, she chuckled. _"Use thy head, child. You've got more in thy head than leaves in thy ears, I am certain."_

"Is it...destruction?" Matau asked. _"No. It is...like Destruction, but not entirely. Destruction is a part of it."_

Matau thought. What power was so strong that Destruction was only a PART of it?

"Power Scream?" he asked, knowing that he was just grasping at straws.

Sylvaticus laughed. _"No, no matter how horrible Natareda's power may seem, Power Scream is not it."_ she smiled. _"Come now, Matau. Stop fooling around and tell me what it is."_

Matau shrugged, embarassed. He really had no clue. He knew he wasn't, the smart one was Nuju, but why did bloody EVERYBODY have to rub it in so much? He knew he was stupid, and just wished everybody would stop telling him so. Even Nokama had called him stupid on the occasion. Nokama! Well, the term she had used was 'idiotic', but that was beside the point. The point was, he was clueless most of the time. After all, he was the only Toa who could manage to trip while lying down. And that was a true statement.

Sylvaticus sighed. _"Are you sure you do not know?"_

He nodded. "Very mind-sure."

She began to fade, and he knew she was disappointed and trying not to show it. "No, wait!" he cried. "I'll think-try harder! Please! Toa-Mother!"

"_Chaos and Order, Chaos and Order...Anubis is Chaos and I am the Order..."_

And she was gone.

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"_Umm...hello?"_

_The Ta-Matoran almost dropped his tool at the sound of the voice before whirling around, brandishing it like a weapon. Upon seeing a pretty young Ga-Matoran wearing a Rau, he dropped his arm sheepishly. "Can I help you?" he asked, approaching her._

_She smiled. "Yes. Do you know where Vakama the tool-maker is?"_

_Yes." he said, nodding._

"_Can you tell me where he is, then?" she asked._

"_Indeed I can." he replied. They were both silent for a minute before she cleared her throat. "So...are you going to?"_

"_I'm right here."_

"_Uh yeah, I was asking for Vakama." she said, cocking her head to one side. What an odd little mask-maker..._

"_I just told you where he is," the Ta-Matoran replied. "He's me. And I'm right here."_

"_Oh!" She blushed horribly. "I-I'm sorry, Vakama...I didn't recognize you."_

_Vakama smiled benevolently. "It's OK. Not too many people do. I prefer not to draw attention to myself. Anyway, what can I help you with?"_

"_Oh! Um, my instructor needs a sample of a Hau like Toa Lhikan's. You know what it looks like, right?"_

"_Of course." He nodded. "He comes to my forge often to visit."_

"_You know Toa Lhikan?" she asked incredulously. Vakama shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't broadcast the fact." he said. "I was pretty surprised at first, too. But Toa Lhikan's pretty supportive of me. He's always telling me to keep going, even when there's no way for the mask to be fixed. And he's usually right." He laughed, remembering._

_She found herself laughing too. "My name's Nokama." she said._

_Vakama looked at her, surprised. "That's pretty weird...our names rhyme!" he said. _

"_Now that you mention it...you're right!" She began to laugh. "That's cool though; my name rhymes with that of the greatest mask-maker on Metru Nui!"_

_Vakama smiled shyly. "It is." Nokama smiled back at him, and for some reason, he turned away._

"_Um, you said you needed a mask like Toa Lhikan's?" he said quickly, looking back at her. Nokama nodded. "Yes. For my instructor."_

"_Instructor?"_

"_Yes. I wanna be a teacher."_

"_Sounds boring." he said, then started with shock. "Oh! I'm really sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I meant – uh – what I meant to say is...uh..."_

"_It's OK." she smiled. "I didn't think it would be too interesting at first, but it's not bad at all. Yeah, some of the students are really weird, and some aren't too good at stuff, but I really enjoy what I do. It's just...I dunno, but I love it." She cocked her head to one side. "Well, I gotta get going now, but I'll come by later to get the mask from you. Speaking of which, when should I come get it?"_

_He was staring at her. "Um...hello?" She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes and he blinked, then jumped. "Oh! Uh, in about two days it should be d-done." he stammered. "Come back by sundown on the second day, and it'll be ready."_

"_OK." She smiled at him again, and he turned away. Was it just her, or was his mask...redder than before? "I'll be here." She turned and was about to walk away when he said, "Wait!"_

_She turned around. "Yes?"_

_Vakama cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I can bring it to you, if you want...so you don't have to make the journey again, I mean. I know that Ga-Matoran don't like heat so much, so...yeah. Would that be better?"_

_Nokama thought for a minute. If he were to deliver it, then it would save her another long journey to Ta-Metru, not to mention give her more time to finish her after-class chores. It was a winning solution._

"_Sure." she smiled. "You know where Sila's classroom is?"_

_He shook his head. "I'll find it. Is that where you'll be?"_

"_Mhm." Once again, she gave him a smile. "Well, seeya in two days, Vakama!" She bounced out of the forge._

"_Y...yeah." Vakama murmured. "Seeya...Nokama."_

Nokama awoke with a start. Glancing around, she breathed a sigh of relief once she realized she was alone. Again.

Oh yeah. Typhon was banned from here unless Anubis said so, and the other Toa Itami wouldn't go near this place willingly, so she was bound to have privacy at all times. Unless Anubis decided to pay her another visit. She shivered.

What a weird dream...the day she'd met Vakama. Not such a bad day, but wow. She hadn't thought of that day for a while now. Back then, she hadn't liked him much. From what she'd heard, he was a pro mask-maker, the best. All the Ga-Matoran in her neighborhood were practically in love with him, and ranted all fragging day about how great he was. From all they said about him, she had concluded that because he was so popular, like most celebrities, he must be stuck up and arrogant. She'd been surprised to see that he actually wasn't. Even more so to hear that he didn't like all the attention he got. He'd scored points immediately for saying that, and being so truthful about it.

It wasn't until later that she learned what a big thing it was for him to come out of his forge. The poor guy had been mobbed by Ga-Matoran, all demanding an autograph or something along those lines. Nokama laughed, remembering the exasperated look on his face when she'd found him cornered by a group of blue Matoran. It had bordered on absolutely hilarious. She had immediately gone over and rescued him, then collected the mask and invited him to meet her teacher. Sila had been impressed immediately with the mask and told him that right away.

Of course, Vakama had looked at the ground, looking extremely embarassed. It was his natural insecurity, Nokama now knew; he couldn't do a single thing without wondering if he had done it right. She had to admit that it was an admirable quality. Humility. And the guy was so humble he didn't even know if he should be a Toa or not.

And to make matters worse, when he had left, Sila had pulled Nokama aside and told her upfront to keep him. Nokama had immediately turned red and started to deny that he was hers. Sila had only laughed and said, "Sure."

Nokama shook her head with a smile. Back then, she had thought he was cute, yes, but had harbored none of the feelings she did now. Now...now, she practically hyperventilated at the sound of his voice. The only one who knew about her secret crush on Vakama was Onewa, and that was only because he had walked in on her jabbering at one of the lightstones in her hut about it. She'd been mortified, to put it lightly. But Onewa had only laughed and said, "It's no wonder you're a teacher – you're one of the most stubborn people I've ever met."

She gently traced one finger around the casing of her pendant. It was hard and smooth, and shining as vibrantly as the day she had received it. She pressed it against her chest, feeling it jolt slightly over her suddenly aching heart. To be honest, she was beginning to despair of ever seeing any of them again. Especially Vakama, even though Anubis had told her upfront that they were coming for her.

Sighing loudly, she leaned against the wall and stared off into space.

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"_What's wrong, Tater?"_

"Go away." Natay bit out, not in the mood for her former leader's presence at all.

Lhikan chuckled. _"A woman scorned..."_

"What do you want, Lhikan?" she asked. "I'm not in the mood. I just wanna be alone."

"_I just want to talk, Tater. Is that OK with you?"_

"Don't call me 'Tater'. But whatever. What d'you wanna talk about?" she sighed. "I just wanna be alone."

"_I know. But I'm going to annoy you and talk to you anyway. What is the MATTER with you, Tater? Why the long face?"_ She glared at him.

"None o' yore fraggin' business, pyromaniac! I don't wanna talk about it!"

Lhikan sighed. _"It's about Onewa, isn't it?"_

Natay froze. "What did you jus' say?"

"_I said-"_

"I heard you, stupid!" she snapped. "What I'm tryna ask is...why you think that?"

He smiled benevolently. _"It's more than a little obvious, Natay. I've been watching you since this mission started, and your mind's seldom left him. You feel the same about him you used to feel about Nidhiki before that whole ordeal came up."_

"No I don't." she muttered, turning around. "Why should I? I mean nothing to him, so there's no point in me havin' feelin's for him. No point, y'know? Jus' like there was no point in Nidhiki likin' Kaylani the way he did...oops."

She stopped, as Lhikan's face had contorted with pain. "I'm sorry, Lhikan, I didn't mean t'bring it up again, I was just..."

"_It's...OK."_ he murmured. _"Just – painful, is all. Please don't bring it up again."_

"I don' see whatcher complainin' about." Natay muttered. "Yer both dead, so ya get to see each other all tha time, doncha?"

He went on, not answering her question. _"I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't give up on him yet, Tater. He's just confused."_

"How the FRAG is he confused?" she shouted angrily. "What the frag've I done to HIM to make 'im hate me so darn much? Just what did I do?"

"_It's not you, it's-"_

"Don't gimme that 'it's not you, it's him' crud. He tol' me up straight that he thought I was ugly, so that's one reason apparently. An' he seems t'think I hate him. Why tha FRAG does he think that?"

"_He's just jealous."_ Lhikan smiled. Natay looked incredulous. "Of WHAT?" she asked. "Who else have I shown any interest in 'sides him?"

"_You'll see. Just...don't give up on him, OK? Promise me that, Tater."_

She groaned. "Quit with the eyes, already. OK, OK! I won't give up on 'im yet. Happy?"

Lhikan smiled again. _"Yes, thank you. Listen, Tater, I need to go now, but I'll talk to you again, alright?"_

Natay shrugged, turning away. "Whatever. Seeya 'round, Lhikan."

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"_Clueless as ever."_ Sylvaticus sighed. She looked over at the violet Toa across from her. _"What dost thou think, Shruikan? What will it take for my son to realize it?"_

Shruikan shrugged. _"Couldn't tell ya, lady. He'll come around though, always does. Don't ferget how young 'e is. Can't be expected to know much yet."_

"_And when you were that age, did you settle for that kind of...incompetence?"_ Sylvaticus demanded. _"I am very proud of him, yes, but he NEEDS to live up to title bestowed upon him!"_

"_Jeez, no need ta snap, lady."_ Shruikan shrugged. _"I'm just makin' a point. No need to get all mean on me."_

Sylvaticus immediately felt ashamed. _"Forgive me, my friend. I am afraid my tongue ran away with me. Canst thou forgive me?"_

The former Toa of Thunder grinned. _"How could I not? It's cuz of you that the Toa line was even established. Without you, the world'd already be gone. Think nothin' of it."_

His companion sighed and got up. _"I must be going, Shruikan. May fortune fill your wings."_

"_And yers, Toa-Mother."_

She vanished, and Shruikan sighed. _"Millennia after bein' killed, and I still manage to feel like an ol' man,"_ he laughed. _"Ah well. Death is good."_

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**Featured Song: "Listen To Your Heart" – D.H.T.**

**AN: Yeah, pointless filler chapter cuz I was desperate to post somethin'...getting my baby cousin's Furby thrown at me in the process...not to mention being attacked by Toa Zanda and his idiotic dog...yeah, my life's good. :)**

**Reviews, please.**


	17. Chapter 16: Power

**So we watched Boogieman last night...I was having fun, but I noticed my brother Toa Zanda wasn't. So we are now watching Mulan 2 with my Furby-wielding baby cousin. If I so much as ATTEMPT to move, she screams and attacks me with the Furby while Zander whimpers, the dog jumps onto the table, the parrot screams, "BURN THE PRIEST!" and the cat runs for cover. And justly so. This kid's gonna be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. "All ride den, led's do deez."**

**Shutting up. And yes, my parrot really does say "Burn the priest."**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Sixteen: Power**

"_Bad boys, bad boys...whatcha gonna do when we come for you..." Natay sang loudly at the top of her lungs, off-key. Nidhiki glanced at her exasperatedly as Lhikan sighed and Terios stuck one finger in his ear, wiggling it around. "Natay, your singing is atrocious!" the Toa of Ice complained, interrupting her singing._

_Natay glared at him playfully. "At least it's me an' not Nidhiki singin'," she said. "I sound better'n him."_

"_Mata Nui forbid." Lhikan shook his head._

"_THEN we'd be in trouble," Terios laughed._

"_I resent that," Nidhiki muttered. "My singing is not bad-dark. I took lessons, so there!"_

"_Think of it this way, bro," Shruikan grinned, "it's not that it's bad, it's just not GOOD. That better?"_

"_You have a way of makin' people feel better-good 'bout themselves, you know that?"_

"_It's what I'm here for."_

"_Guys, let's get going." Lhikan broke in. "We've got a job to do."_

"_Oh forgive me, baby brother," Shruikan said with mock apology. "I forget yore in charge sometimes."_

"_Shut up." Lhikan huffed. "I'm in charge here, and you are all of my minions."_

"_Try tellin' Kaylani that."_

"SHUT UP!" Natay hissed. "She's coming!" All five Toa immediately stopped talking and peeked around the corner. A tall white, gree, and brown Toa was coming through the hall of the Great Temple. Every once in a while, she would stop and glance around, as though expecting an ambush. And she was right to.

"_NOW!"_

_Lhikan's whispered shout triggered immediate chaos as the five Toa Mahi leaped out from behind the corner and all tackled the Toa Itami of Acid at once, bowling her over. Hera screeched with shock and rage as the butt of Shruikan's glaive slammed into her stomach, and for a moment, she was unable to defend herself. But then the moment passed, and the five Mahi were flung off her in all directions._

_Terios landed on all fours and was up in a flash, racing towards her with his spear pointed at her heart. Hera drew her axe and ran at him, screaming a warcry. Bright light flashed all around as they clashed._

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"Hey Natay..." Onewa said, coming up to the orange Hordika. She ignored him, looking past him instead with a big smile. He followed her gaze with wide eyes, and his confusion quickly turned to anger. For the one she was smiling at was Whenua, who was smiling back at her with the kind of happiness you only see on the face of a lover. Natay scampered over to the Toa of Earth, and, to Onewa's shocked horror, leaped into his arms.

The Toa of Stone let out a scream as Whenua pressed his mouth to Natay's and kissed her.

"Onewa? Onewa, wake up!"

Onewa was awakened by Nuju's shaking him by the shouler. Still in the grip of his nightmare, he lashed out at the Toa of Ice, catching him on the arm. Nuju responded with a hearty smack that sent him out of his bed and onto the ground. He laid there for a moment, then groaned.

"Frag...why'd you hit so hard?"

"Nightmare?" Nuju asked. His friend nodded, looking at the ground. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked. Onewa glanced up at him, then back at the floor.

"It was about...Natay." he said finally. Nuju nodded. "Understandable. Go on."

"I said hi to her, but she ignored me, and went over to Whenua...and she...uh...she..."

"She WHAT?" Nuju asked, feeling a little irritated. Mata Nui, why couldn't the guy just get it OUT already?

"She...kinda kissed Whenua."

Total silence greeted this before the Toa of Ice began to laugh uproariously. He sank to his knees, still laughing.

"Shut up!" Onewa snapped angrily. "It wasn' funny. What if that was real?"

"Then it'd be real, and there'd be nothing you could do about it." Nuju replied, righting himself, although a grin remained on his face. "If you don't want your dream to come true, then do something about it. Plan your own future, carver – don't let others do it for you."

"I hate you."

"No you don't. Cuz if you did, you wouldn't put up with me."

"...I hate the way you talk."

"The feeling is mutual." Nuju sniffed, straightening up. "I dislike your slang, you dislike my speech. The obvious solution would be for you to learn how to speak properly, but I doubt that will happen. Now, back to your dream. If you let it get to you, you'll most likely lose Natay forever because you'll be too jealous to even LOOK at her. But, if you LEARN from your dream AND your actions, then you can make things right. Who knows, maybe in the near future, that dream will happen, with you in Whenua's place."

Onewa smiled. "Who knew you were so good at interpretin', scholar."

Nuju shrugged nonchalantly. "I was raised in Ko-Metru." he replied. "I was taught to look for the obvious. And it's pretty obvious you can't live without Natay."

The Toa of Stone mock-scowled at him in a comical imitation of the death-glare. Nuju sighed. Why did EVERYONE insist upon copying him? Well, better show him how a REAL death-glare looked. He smirked as his friend shrank down behind the bed from fear.

"I REALLY wish you wouldn't do that." Onewa mumbled from behind his bed. "It scares me."

Nuju laughed. "It scares a lot of people, you're nothing special. Now, let's get some breakfast before Matau scoffs it all."

The Toa of Stone leapt up and ran for the kitchen. "There's no WAY he's eatin' my food! CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!" The door was blown off its hinges as he slammed into it and sprinted away.

Nuju sighed and followed, carefully placing the ruined door back in the frame before taking off as well.

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"Touch and die." Natay snapped at Matau, who was slowly edging towards the food she had so painstakingly prepared. The Toa of Air put his hands up in surrender and scampered back over to Vakama, who was chomping on a piece of bread.

"She's evil-mean!" he whined to his friend. "She won't even give a starvin' Toa-hero a bite to eat!"

Natay glared at him, slamming her spoon down on the table with a resounding smack. "Y'ate all my soup last night, rider! Tha least y'can do is make sure yer friends get some decent sustenance this time 'fore scoffin' it all down yer famine-fed gob!"

"Jeez, it was a compliment!" Matau cried, looking at her spoon warily. "I hunger-ate all yore food cuz it was true-good! That should be a compliment!"

He ducked just in time as the spoon came flying. It hit Vakama instead, who wheezed and rubbed furiously at the food stain on his red and gold armor. "The next time you wanna upset an irate Hordika, make sure it's when I'm not standing right behind you!" he snapped at Matau, who grinned sheepishly from the floor.

Whenua strode in through the door and began to laugh. "Hard morning, eh Natay?" he asked cheerfully, picking the spoon up off the floor and handing it to her. She took it with a smile. "Unfortunately, it is, librarian." she said. "I can't stop that airhead o' yours from eatin' all the food I make 'fore y'all get to it."

The Toa of Earth looked sternly at Matau, and Matau grinned sheepishly again. "It's good food."

"Must be, otherwise you wouldn't be eating it." Nuju remarked as he strode in, Onewa on his heels. As soon as the latter walked through the door, Natay shut her mouth with a snap and turned back to the food she was making, stirring silently. Nuju sighed and turned to Vakama. "Anything to report, Vak?" he asked. "Did you see the Itami's ship?"

Vakama shook his head. "No, but I think we're getting closer. This fog we're in's got me all scrambled up."

"It's called the Dream." Natay said. They all looked over at her. "The Dream?" Whenua asked. "Pretty name." Matau nodded.

Natay laughed mirthlessly. "Its effect's anythin' BUT pretty. Don't never go in there without someone who knows it perfectly, or you'll get lost. An' those who get lost in the Dream STAY lost. There're stories of vessels that've gotten lost in here an' are just wanderin' around, still tryna find a way out."

"Then shouldn't we all be up there making sure we DON'T get lost?" Onewa asked. Natay shook her head, still not looking at him. "No. Another side effect o' the Dream is that it makes you all weird – you can't think, and you start dreamin' while yer awake. I lashed tha tiller and tha steerin' wheel to tha right way, so until we pass through it, we're stayin' down here."

"Nuh-uh." Matau looked nervous. "Down here? In this bad-cramped place? For how long?"

The Hordika shrugged. "I dunno. When I came here, I was on lookout duty, so I couldn't really think straight. I kinda remember Lhikan draggin' me downstairs, but after that, I could tell where we were goin'. She glanced out the circular window. "We're 'bout three quarters o' the way through, so just about down. 'Nother coupla hours, and it'll be safe t'go up again."

Matau fell over. Whenua immediately grabbed him up as Vakama snatched a towel and began to fan him. "I think you scared him a little." the Toa of Earth grinned at the confused Natay. "An' I thought Onewa was dramatic?" she muttered. The Toa of Stone looked up at the sound of his name, and for a moment, their eyes met before she looked down and turned away again. He sighed and crossed his arms as Vakama continued to fan the Toa of Air.

The meal actually progressed without any sort of physical or mental trauma, unless you counted Natay throwing her spoon and actually hitting Matau this time. By the time the meal was over, Onewa was fidgeting noticeably. He kept looking over at the Hordika of Power Scream, who was effectively ignoring him and talking to Nuju about battle tactics.

"Hestia you'll wanna hit hard an' fast, otherwise she'll get into yer mind and start messin' with it." she explained as she wolfed down some more food. The Toa of Ice nodded. "And Osiris? How can I defeat him?"

"Well, he's not too smart." Natay replied. "So all's ya gotta do is confuse 'im enough to where he don't know what's goin' on. But be careful – it took me, Lhikan, and Nidhiki combined to take down Hera, and Osiris is actually stronger than her. I doubt you'll be able to defeat him alone, but you're somewhat stronger than Terios was, and he did reasonably well 'gainst the brute. Oh, and one more thing: make sure he don't hit ya with 'is death ray. Cuz then you'll be dead."

Nuju nodded again, looking slightly sick. "Somehow, I failed to notice that fact."

"Now, Set's a tricky one." Natay continued, obviously not noticing his discomfort. "He's pretty sly, and he figgers out weaknesses real quick." At this, Whenua sat up straight and looked at her intently. "Go on." he said. "What else can he do?"

"His element's Silicon, which is a type o' metal that's made from protodermis and pure gold mixed. Due to tha fact that it's made from protodermis, 'e can control it, which makes 'im pretty dangerous. Him and Kroova – Toa o' Metal back in the old days – didn't get along too well, but then again, they wouldn't have anyway. Anyway, to beat Set, you'll have to match 'im in strength, which isn't so easy to do."

"Oh, trust me," Whenua glowered. "I know."

"What about Hera?" Matau asked. "She belonged in mask-yard if you ask me."

"She's the cruellest one, 'sides Anubis o' course. If there's one thing you'll ever regret, it'd be messin' with her. She's got a nasty power an' a bad temper t'go with it. The way Hera does things is this: once she knows she's got ya cornered, she'll play around with ya, and when she gets bored, she kills ya." Natay stuck a piece of bread in her mouth and chewed nonchalantly. Matau stuck his chin out. "She better not scratch my armor-shine or I'll show her how a REAL Toa-hero fights!" he snapped, glancing down at his chest.

"What about Anubis?" Vakama's voice came quietly. "How does he operate?"

Natay looked uncomfortable. "I...can't answer that." she replied softly, not looking at him. "And why not?" he demanded. "I NEED to know, Natay. The future of the planet depends on this!"

"It doesn't matter if I explain it or not, cuz by the time you end up facin' him again, you'll have tha Blade of Order in yore hands," she snapped irately. "To face Anubis without it is suicide, Vak. Only a fool would try it."

"If it means saving Nokama, then I'll face him without it." he declared. "I would die to save her." He was aware of Matau's eyes boring into him, but ignored the Toa of Air. "I love her, Natay. More than anything. So much that I'd go through all this again to save her." To his surprise, Natay sniffed.

"You're so much like Lhikan." she muttered, wiping at her eyes. "He said tha same thing 'bout Kaylani...so did Nidhiki, come to think of it. Those two...they were so in love with her, if she told 'em to drown 'emselves, they would've." She sighed, looking at her plate. "On'y difference is that ol' Chaos-Mask was holdin' Kaylani as bait fer Lhikan." She shook her head, smiling ruefully.

"And then there's Typhon. He was a strange one if I ever saw it. Pointblank refused t'kill Vastor, but wounded 'im pretty badly. Said 'e didn't hold with killin' a helpless enemy or some crud like that, but 'e's an odd one alright. Y'd do well t'avoid that scythe of his, though – I've seen it cut trees in two with one swing. He's got Shadow, pretty powerful element."

"What is Anubis's power?" Nuju asked. "We know that Hera is Acid, Set is Silicon, Osiris is Death, Hestia is Nightmare, and Typhon is Shadow, but what about Anubis? What's his element?"

Something in Matau's head clicked just then. Chaos-Mask? Sylvaticus's rhyme echoed in his head, along with her words from the night before last, when he had dreamed of her again.

"_Chaos and Order, Chaos and Order...Anubis is Chaos and I am the Order..."_

"_No. It is...like Destruction, but not entirely. Destruction is a part of it."_

"I think I mind-know what it is." he said. They all looked at him and he gulped. "And it's not very good."

It all made sense now! The rhyme, the statement...even why the Blade of Order was called such made sense now. If Sylvaticus had wielded the Blade of Order against her stellar opposite, then that stellar opposite would have to be...

"What do you think it is?" Natay asked, smiling slightly.

Matau took a deep breath.

"I think it's..."

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Typhon sat dismally in the crow's nest of the Itami's vessel, one hand resting on his chin as he scowled into the wind. He hadn't been in a good mood for a while now, not since Anubis had banned him from seeing Nokama. Heck, he hadn't been in a good mood since BEFORE then.

It was all that Vaka's fault. If it weren't for him, then Nokama would be in love with Typhon, the Toa of Shadow was certain of it. But no, she was in love with some weird little friend of hers from her home island, no place in her heart for Typhon, of course not. It didn't matter to her that he was the only one who wanted to keep her alive after they had the Blade of Order, or that he had kept her company this entire time, or that it was because of him that Hera hadn't already mutilated her.

This Vaka guy would pay dearly when they met. Anubis had told them to all be on the watch for a silver ship called the _Makuta_, because that was the ship that Vaka, along with Natay Mahi and four other Toa, were coming on to rescue Nokama. It was all Typhon could do to not kill something right then, pacifistic though he was. His longing for the pretty Toa of Water had awakened something in him he had honestly never felt before, something that made him want to destroy everything he had once stood for.

It made him want to be...GOOD.

He shivered at the very thought of it. Although he really wanted to live peacefully with her when this whole ordeal was over, the idea of being one of the good guys horrified him. His life before the Toa Itami he no longer remembered, but it couldn't have been good. The Itami were all he knew, and all he wanted to be.

It had been only one day since they had made it out of the Dream. So Voya Nui should be very near. Anubis had said they should expect to spot it any time now. Personally, none of them minded. The Dream had an effect on all of them, and it wasn't good. Their lookout shifts had had to be changed from four hours to one, as more than that tended to leave the lookout more than a little disoriented for the next several hours. Anubis was the only one who wasn't effected at all, and of course, Nokama, who hadn't even left her prison since first entering it.

Wait! What was that...? A...landmass?

It was! And, sitting in the very middle of it was a large volcano. Typhon's face lit up into the first real smile for days. He dashed over to the railing and screamed down at the lackluster black Toa on the deck.

"ANUBIS! LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!"

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**Featured Song: "Chop Suey!" (Theme of Onewa) – System of a Down**

**AN: Well, this one's coming to the climax...pretty soon, too. Only a couple more chapters, I do believe, before it's finished. Maybe more. I dunno yet XD This story's gotten the most reviews out of all of my stories here, and I'm pretty proud to say that at the moment, I'm one short of fifty. It's a big deal to me, so yeah. I'm still speculating about what to do with Typhon, cuz Whale Shark 7's gotten attached to him, but we'll see. His fate won't suck, I promise. I've actually put some thought into it XD**

**Am I insane, you now ask? My answer: Is 'Schwarzenegger' hard to spell?**

**OK, I gotta go feed that damn bird of mine before it has a hernia. Not to mention save my poor brother from the Furby. Peace.**

**Reviews?**


	18. Chapter 17: Almost

**You really should check out the Bionicle RPG. It's really good, and we're about to start work on our version of the fourth movie. I'm Kongu and Zaktan, huzzah!**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Seventeen: Almost**

_Anubis circled the chained Toa of Plasma and smiled complacently. "So...you're Plasma, eh?" he asked. Rostu sneered at him, but kept silent. "Excitable...passionate..." the dark Toa went on softly, "Eager to win...competitive." He looked over his enemy contemptuously. "It's no wonder I was able to capture you so easily. Your love of fighting caused you to make a fatal mistake."_

"_With the exception that it wasn't you who captured me." Rostu snarled. "That Osiris guy did it. You just sat there an' watched."_

_He flinched as Anubis lashed out with his own whip. Jeez, his whip was as strong as a building and, at this moment, he was really regretting that. Some blood dripped down from the fresh cut on his arm where it had hit. By Mata Nui, that HURT. He watched as the dark Toa raised his precious plasma whip and commenced to beat him with it._

_Shruikan snarled through his gag and struggled wildly, but to no avail. The strange chains he was entangled in drained elemental power efficiently, so there was no point in even trying to fry them at all. But that didn't make it alright for him to sit and watch one of his friends be tortured like a dog. It was just his luck that he and Rostu were the only two who had been captured...or maybe it WAS lucky. If more of the Toa Mahi had been captured, there would be less to keep fighting, and indeed, to rescue them. He took a deep breath. To his surprise, Rostu's only reaction to the beating was a major flinch. No screams, no pleas for mercy, no nothing._

_This wasn't going well with Anubis. Already the Toa Itami was showing signs of the psychotic anger Shruikan had seen so many times before. It was obviously taking all of his energy to just keep in control of his temper._

_The Toa of Thunder made a mental note to beat his younger brother when he showed up. Lhikan had a knack for knowing when something was wrong; he'd surely send Kroova or someone looking for him and Rostu when they didn't report back. He HAD to. There was no way Shruikan was going to believe his little brother would just forget about him and move on..._

_Or would he?_

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"You think it's what?" Natay asked, smiling slightly. "Tell me what you think it is."

"I think it's...Chaos." Matau finished softly.

Silence greeted his words, then Onewa began to laugh.

"Chaos?" he asked. "How is that possible? No one could control Chaos, it's impossible!"

"No one ever said he controlled it." Nuju reprimanded quietly. "He probably doesn't control it anymore than Vakama controls you."

"I resent that." Vakama glowered.

"Whatever." Nuju huffed. "The point is, who said Anubis CONTROLLED Chaos? Uses it, maybe, but controls it? I doubt it. Like you said, Onewa, it's impossible to control. It's no wonder he's insane – having an element like that."

"It's not easy." Natay remarked. They all looked at her quizzically. "Explain." Whenua said.

"Power Scream's as close t'Chaos as you could get." she said. "You c'n never really control it, nor fully get tha hang of it. Every day I learn new things 'bout my element that I didn't know before. It all comes with bein' a Toa, Hordika though I may be."

"Uh, I didn't mean that..." Matau muttered. "I didn't mean you were crazy, power screamer, I meant...uh..."

"It's OK." Natay said. "I know. I'm just makin' a point. The point is, what Nuju said is right. Anubis controls Chaos no more'n Vakama knows how ta snowboard. And I mean that in tha most affectionate way possible, Vak." she added, upon seeing the Toa of Fire's indignant face.

"Hey, I'm TRYING to learn," he protested.

"So what do we do?" Whenua broke in. "If Anubis uses Chaos, and we have nothing to counter it, what do we do? He took out Vakama in two blows, he'll make even shorter work of the rest of us, I bet. We're doomed."

"I take back what I said about you, Nuju." Onewa said to the Toa of Ice. Nuju raised one brow. "And what did you say about me?"

"Remember when I said I'd found someone who made Whenua look cheerful? I take it back. He is ultimately the worst person I've ever met at bein' even remotely happy."

"Oh, thank you." Nuju said sarcastically. "I feel so relieved to no longer be the most melodramatic person you can think of."

"Where is the Blade of Order?" Vakama's quiet voice interrupted their exchange.

Natay smiled, her tail waving from side to side. "I know where it is," she replied. "But I'm not gonna say."

"Why not?" he asked incredulously. "I NEED that Blade, Natay! You said so yourself that to go up against Anubis without it is suicide! And yet you won't even tell me where it is?"

"That's hippo-crisis." Matau nodded.

"Um yeah, it's called hypocrisy." Nuju said.

"Whatever."

"It's not that I don't WANT to tell you, it's that you don' need t'know yet." Natay said gently. "When you need it, really and truly need it more than anythin', you'll know where it is." She looked directly into his eyes. "Your heart's a dangerous weapon, Vakama...remember that."

"It's inside of Nokama, I already told you!" Matau snapped. "That's why the Itami away-stole her. Because she has the Blade."

Natay shook her head. "You're impulsive, Matau Metru, I'll give ya that." she said. "But I'm not gonna correct you. Lhikan knew what 'e was doin' when 'e hid that relic away, and 'e wouldn't put it in a place so easily realized. Trust me - I spent close to seven millennia servin' under him as his second-in-command. I know how 'e worked. An' he wouldn't trust that Blade with no one 'cept someone he knew he could trust absolutely. Someone with a - somewhat - pure heart. None of you are completely pure, I'm afraid t'say, but then again, who IS these days?"

"That rules you out then, rock-smasher." Whenua smirked. "She said 'somewhat pure' and you have no purity whatsoever."

"Put a rock in it, pencil pusher."

"Will you stop bickering?" Nuju asked exasperatedly.

"So I can't find the Blade of Order until I need it?" Vakama asked, feeling his temper rising, as it had been doing very frequently recently.

Natay nodded and got up. "Mhm. No point in givin' me that angry face, Vak, my mind's made up. Now, we have work t'do. Onewa, do me a favor an' make sure the tiller's still lashed, please. Don't stay out there too long, though - I don't wanna have to come an' rescue you. Y'hear?"

"Yes..." Onewa sighed and got up as well. He pushed his way past a smirking Nuju and opened the door. Tendrils of white mist floated in, and for a moment, he felt light-headed. Then the moment passed, and he squared his jaw. Giving his teammates a short wave, he stepped outside and closed the door.

Natay sighed and began to clear the table. Matau and Whenua bent to help her, chuckling quietly when she said, "On'y reason I chose him was cuz his skull's so thick tha Dream'll have a hard time gettin' to 'im."

"You may be right." Whenua grinned. "Nothing gets through to him."

Natay smiled.

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"Why am I always the one to be sent on errands?" Onewa wondered to himself as he trudged through the fog to the tiller and steering wheel. "It's like I'm their errand boy - 'Onewa, make Matau leave me alone!' 'Yes Nokama, I'll make him go away.' 'Onewa, stand on my shoulders and pry the bars off the ceiling!' 'Onewa, go check to see that we're not off course, even though there's this weird fog-stuff all over and you could end up as a vegetable by the time you get back!' Jeez...she's lucky she asked so nicely. Otherwise I wouldn't be out here...argh..."

He stomped up to the motionless tiller, which was tied in position by a length of rope. The steering wheel likewise was bound. It moved slightly, but other than that, it was still.

Onewa snorted and lightly tapped the wheel. It moved an inch, but nothing else. The boat groaned beneath him. He sighed. Although he was nowhere near understanding what the thing was saying, he could tell by the tone.

"_Stop that."_

"Stupid boat..." he muttered, turning around to go back to the cabin. He was beginning to feel woozy, very woozy. He tripped over something and fell on his face on the deck. Even if he had wanted to get up, he wouldn't have been able to. His body felt so weak...maybe it wouldn't be so bad to take a little nap. No harm, right?

Unable to even get into a more comfortable position, he closed his heavy eyes and went to sleep.

Shadows walked across his mind as he slept. He couldn't see anything...wait, where was he? Last he had known, he was lying on the deck of the _Freedom_, unable to move. Where the heck was he now?

Something moved in front of him. There was no mistaking that bright orange color. It was obviously Natay, but he couldn't see her face. The silver ridges on her back in place of a Rhotuka spinner quivered, as did her limbs, almost as if she were in intense pain.

"Natay?" he asked, touching her on the shoulder. "Are you OK?"

She coughed suddenly, and blood flew from her mouth. She grabbed onto him, then fell to her knees, still coughing and holding her mouth with one clawed hand. Her long tail flopped uselessly.

"Natay? What's wrong?" Onewa bent down to look at her and gasped. He could see, clear as day, the large hole in her chest, right below her heart light. He felt his forehead break out in sweat as she choked again, trying desperately to stem the flow from her wound. He grabbed her and held up, trying to ignore the way her body shook. He had seen one other body do this. A Kane-Ra had gotten into a fight with a Tunneler in Po-Metru. The giant Rahi bull had convulsed just like this when the Tunneler had speared it with its own horns.

She was dying.

He held her in his arms as she reached up and touched his face gently, smiling. "On...Onewa..."

"I'm here..." he said. "I'm here, Natay, you can't die. Not while I'm here for you...not like this..."

"I'm s-sorry..." she croaked.

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"Nuju, do me a favor an' go find that rock-head for me, will you?" Natay said impatiently from washing dishes. She handed one to Matau, who diligently dried with a towel. "He's been out there for at least twenty minutes by now."

"Alright, I'm going." Nuju stood up from talking with Vakama about more battle tactics and went outside, closing the door behind him. Vakama looked over at Natay and sighed. "Just when I need him most, you send him away."

"I'm good at that." she replied, shoving the last dish to Matau. He dried it, then handed it to Whenua, who stacked it in one of the many cupboards. "I don't usually do kitchen work..." Natay remarked to them absently. "But seein' as Kaylani an' Raura aren't here, it's my job t'make sure all this gets done. An' I don't trust any of you in this kitchen alone."

"That's understandable," Vakama laughed. "We seem to break more than we rescue...oops." He had knocked a cup off the table. It broke neatly in six pieces. Natay sighed as he began to pick them up off the ground. "See? My point is proven."

"Between you an' Onewa an' those confounded Itami, I don't think I'm gonna survive these next coupla days." she said irately. "My fate's to die surrounded by morons, it seems."

Vakama froze.

"_It's just that, well, the poor girl's fate is something of a joke to us."_

Turaga Amara's words echoed through his head and he began to feel sick. The prophecy concerning Natay's fate came to mind as well.

"_The Kane-Ra, war-ravaged future. The Ghekula, unwanted transformation. The Bula berry, unrequited love. And...the Gukko bird, sacrifice."_

"Don't...don't say that!" he gasped. Natay paused to look at him oddly before continuing her trek across the room. "I...I mean to say..." he trailed off, unable to think of a suitable explanation. "You're going to survive...we all are. Don't talk like that!"

Natay raised an eyebrow. "Sarcasm is a foreign language to you, isn't it?" He looked at her, unable to think of what to say. "It was a joke, nothin' more, nothin' less. Don't think anythin' of it, Vak. Don't want yore head to explode, now do we?"

Vakama moaned and buried his head in his hands. Whenua gave him an odd look, before turning to Matau.

"Wanna do some sparring?" he asked. "I'm bored."

As he spoke, Natay hurriedly shut all the cupboards and pushed the table and chairs (one of which had Vakama sitting in it) to the corner of the room. "You're not messin' up MY stuff." she said in response to Whenua's odd look. "Now, on with the sparrin'! I wanna see some action. Hop to it, boys!"

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"Onewa!" Nuju called into the heavy fog. "Onewa!" OK, so he wasn't at the steering wheel, which was where he should've been...where the heck was he? Nuju was starting to feel dizzy, and he didn't hold too well with that at all. He stumbled and caught himself, scolding himself for his clumsiness.

'_This won't do...'_ he thought. '_Trust that moron to get lost in a heavy fog...make that VERY heavy fog...'_

He tripped over something again, and peered down at it. Brown and gold armor? Onewa! Hurriedly, he picked his friend up, slightly surprised at the babbling muttering coming from him. No time to think about that, if he could even think straight. Throwing Onewa on his back, Nuju staggered off back towards the cabin, cursing the day he had become a Toa.

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The door to Nokama's prison banged open and she blinked in the sudden sunlight. To her slight disappointment, it was not Typhon who had come for her, it was Set. He leered at her before picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder.

"Hey!" She banged on his back angrily. "Where are you taking me? Put me down!"

"Shut up and listen, Water Toa," Set snapped. "I'm in no mood fer this, neither is anyone else. We've reached Voya Nui, and we're about to head for Mt. Valamai to get that Blade outta you. What happens next is up to Anubis. That good enough for you?"

"No it is not!" Nokama shouted, managing to kick him in the chest; he grunted in pain. "Put me down! I refuse to be treated this way!"

"I'll treat ya how I wanna treat ya." he growled back, giving her a sharp slap to quiet her. "Now shut up. We need to move with all possible speed and silence, and if you mess this up for us, not even Anubis'll hold me back from killin' you."

She shut her mouth angrily and sat in sullen silence as the other four Itami crowded around, waiting for Anubis. She tried to catch Typhon's eye, but the Toa of Shadow was not even looking her way. Nokama bit her lip. He was probably still mad from the other day, she thought. No wonder.

Finally, Anubis came. The black Toa's red eyes shone like the jewel in Nokama's pendant as he spoke. "Now we leave for Mt. Valamai...Itami, we have done well. Soon the Blade of Order will be within our grasp, and with it, we shall rule this pitiful planet!"

Osiris and Hestia clapped meekly as Hera smiled and Set snorted. Typhon was completely silent. Anubis looked directly at the Shadow Toa before saying, "Set, give the prisoner to Typhon."

"What?" the Toa of Silicon asked, completely taken aback.

"I said, give the prisoner to Typhon. He wants her so bad, he can carry her to Mt. Valamai. It'll save your back, am I right?"

"Yes, sir." Set muttered, handing Nokama to Typhon, who shouldered her without a sound.

"Typhon-"

"Shut up." His cold tone surprised her, and she shut her mouth immediately with a snap. Typhon glared at her out of the corner of his eye before taking off after the rest of his team, who were already walking away. Already she could see the smoking mountain, with lava moving sluggishly out of its top.

"How do we get inside?" she heard Osiris ask. "Tunnel entrance." Hestia answered. "Remember the last time we were here? Millennia ago, but we were here. Oh wait, you and Typhon weren't. My mistake."

"There will be NO mistakes from here on out." Anubis snarled from the head of the group. "There should have been no mistakes PERIOD, yet there were. But this is where my mercy stops. No mistakes, and I MEAN it."

Silence.

"Good. Get a move on, we have somewhere to be before those Toa and Natay show up."

Once again, Nokama felt herself longing for Vakama to hurry up and rescue her already. Now that she knew he was coming for her, she felt better, but what if he arrived too late? Anubis had told her straight up he planned to kill her, and he might have already done so by the time Vakama arrived.

It didn't bear thinking about for now. For now, she'd just try to stay alive.

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**Featured Song: "Sad Exchange" (Theme of Whenua) - Finger Eleven**

**AN: Almost done...almost. Ai, what did I do to deserve this? Stupid List Stories menu, not showing my stories. I burn it with a rubber spoon, that I do. -sighs- So Onewa has ANOTHER dream...don't kill me. I like writing about dreams, that I do. OK, I suck. I admit it.**

**Reviews?**


	19. Chapter 18: Challenge

**I gotta get NeoOffice thingy...my Word test drive is almost up, and I lack the essentials to pay for it. :( WAH. Whoa, are we on chapter eighteen already? Didn't I start this story like two months ago? Gawd...obsessions suck. -watches as Tollian throttles Vakama- o.o XD**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Eighteen: Challenge**

"_Destiny...who said they controlled their own destinies?" Anubis asked himself, secluded in the privacy of the abandoned Le-Metru chute station. "I control their destinies, not them...they never will." He looked at the six multicolored stones on the table in front of him. "When I deprived Sylvaticus of her team, I deprived her of her Unity...but she still managed to defeat me. And now, I'm beginning to doubt my team's ability to deal with this 'Mahi' threat. Are they really so weak as to lose to these...children?"_

_He picked up the red stone, turning it over in his hand. "Hera, Hera, Hera..." he murmured. "You'll never know who you really are, what you were supposed to be...Acid you are now, and Acid you shall stay, my little friend...Sylvaticus was a fool. She knew who you were, yet she sealed you and your brethren away anyway. Not a very good friend, am I right?"_

_His eyes fell upon the blue stone, which was shining a lot brighter than the rest of the stones, with the exception of the green one. "And my friend Typhon...why don't you kill unless ordered to? What is it that still remains in your heart that makes you so merciful, mm? Why won't you be the killer that resides within you?"_

_Anubis's eyes got brighter as he gazed down upon the blue stone. "You refused to kill that Aruna upstart, even though you could have destroyed her with a single blow." He crushed the stone with a single clench of his fist, blue powder running through his fingers._

"_Why won't you kill?"_

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"What's wrong with him?" Natay asked anxiously as Nuju dragged Onewa back inside. Nuju set his friend down on the floor, then straightened up and looked at her wearily.

"Stayed out in the mist too long, Natay. You sent me out there to save him, remember? I must say, it's a good thing you did. He was just lying out there, mumbling to himself."

"About what?"

"I don't know." the Toa of Ice shrugged. "I couldn't hear. By then, I was just concentrating on staying awake."

"If it makes you feel any better, we're almost out of the Dream." Whenua said, stopping his sparring match with Matau. "I can see a little clearer out the windows, and it seems a bit brighter outside."

"Right, Whenua." Natay nodded. "We are almost out...an' almost to Voya Nui. The Itami are prolly already there, though, so we have to hurry. Soon as we get outta this mist, I want all hands on deck - those that are conscious - to put full speed ahead. Got it?"

"And I thought Vakama was bossy-mouth?" Matau muttered. He quailed under the Hordika's glare. "Sorry."

"You better be..." She sighed. "Jeez, I just wanna be done with this an' go home." She smiled as she thought about it. "The waterfalls in Ga-Metru, plenty of Visorak and Rahi to eat...Gukko eggs to snatch...Muaka to fight...I can't wait t'get back to it."

"N...nasty..." a voice groaned. They all looked down at Onewa, who had spoken. He had curled up into a ball on the floor and was now rocking back and forth.

"What did you say?" Natay asked.

"I said...nasty Visorak." the Toa of Stone replied, slurring his words slightly. Natay bent over him, her concerned face looking into his worriedly. Suddenly, his dream came back to him so forcefully that he let out a yelp and scrambled away from her. Then, realizing that she was not covered in blood, bleeding, or dying, he sighed and relaxed. Vakama raised an eyebrow. "Uh...are you OK?"

"Y-Yeah..." Onewa gulped, still looking at Natay. She ahemed and looked away. "We're almost out of the Dream." she said, standing up. "Get ready to haul armor. Voya Nui should be visible by now."

"Yes ma'am!" Matau exclaimed, straightening up and saluting her smartly. Natay gave him a smack before clapping her hands. "Alright, Metru, on deck! I wanna see some action! Hop to it! Sooner we reach Voya Nui, sooner you get rid o' me!"

No one saw the sad expression on Vakama's face as they all scrambled out the door and took up their positions, Matau in the crow's nest and Natay back on the steering wheel.

'_If only you knew, Natay...'_ he thought sadly as he began to pull on the ropes holding the sail up, watching the Hordika shout instructions to his team.

'_If only you knew how true your statement is.'_

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The walk to the volcano didn't take as long as Nokama thought it would. The tunnel entrance was actually pretty close to the beach. As she was carried on Typhon's back, she desperately tried to think of an escape plan that might actually work. But she wasn't all that great of an escape planner, no, that was Onewa's special line of work. When the going got tough...Onewa got going. That was the joke between herself and Vakama. Her heart gave a huge pang as she thought of her best friend.

No matter where he was, it was surely too late now. Already they, the Itami and herself, were at Voya Nui.

And then Anubis would kill her and somehow manage to get the Blade of Order, thus bringing destruction to the world. She shuddered at the thought. Those poor Matoran...with Anubis as supreme ruler, they wouldn't last a minute. And not even all the Toa in the world would stop the evil Itami if he got what he wanted.

Glancing over his shoulder at Nokama, Typhon suppressed a heavy sigh. He had been so depressed lately, not being able to see her, and then...his anger and sadness had taken over his elation at seeing her again, making him snap at her when she tried to talk to him.

He narrowed his eyes. Stupid girl. They'd see who loved who after this little trip. Darn straight they would. Her precious little "Vaka" wasn't coming to save her, and she needed to accept that. There was no way Typhon was going to let her be taken away from him...no way at all.

Did he love her?

Yes.

A lot?

Way more than a lot.

Did he really?

He had never felt this way for anyone before...it was just how Anubis had described being in love. If it wasn't love, then Typhon was a Ghekula frog.

He didn't want to be in love. Really and truly didn't want to be. But he was...and no matter how hard he tried to forget, it was always there, torturing him when he remembered that she thought of someone else in the way that he thought of her. He needed her...he knew that now. The few days of being separated from her had almost killed him. He was so lonely without her. Sometimes, passing by the cabin, he could hear her singing to herself, always the same song, over and over again.

A song about meeting the one you love after dark again and holding them close...becoming so lost in your love that you would fly away before the dawn came along...never waking up from your happy dream...

It was a beautiful song, and Typhon loved to listen to it. Unfortunately, he could only catch snatches up it now, especially since there was always someone waiting to chase him away from Nokama's cabin. But now...now she was back with him. Cool and light as an ocean breeze, and as beautiful as the protodermis sea at sunset, that was his beloved Nokama.

Typhon huffed irately and hitched her a little higher up on his back. Not his. Not his at all, because she loved someone else. But he'd change that. Oh yes, how he would change that...

"Hera, how much further?"

Set's question broke through his mind, interrupting his train of thought. "Not much further." Hera replied, up at the head of the group, Anubis right behind her. "We're almost there."

"You said that half an hour ago." Hestia grumbled. She rubbed her javelin in anticipation. "I want those Toa to come so I can stab 'em again!"

"If they come, we'll kill 'em." Osiris agreed. He glanced at Anubis, whose hook had just twitched irately. "Of course, they prolly won't come. Cowards don't fight battles, y'know..."

"That icy Toa you fought was no coward." Set said, kicking a rock out of his way. "He came at you with everythin' he had."

"Yeah, but I bent his spike thing." Osiris laughed. "The look on his face...priceless!"

"Shut up." Anubis snapped angrily. "We're almost there, and if any one of you messes this up for me, you will pay."

"Anubis, we're here!" Hera called.

The Itami's leader whirled around and dashed to her immediately. "Are you sure?" he demanded. She nodded, uncomfortable with him so close to her. "Yes. We passed the Miru shaped rock, and here's the stone that covers the entrance. See?"

"Set, move that waste of space out of the way." Anubis ordered. "One little mishap could cost me my desire."

"Immediately, Anubis." Set knelt in front of the rock and gripped it tightly. Grunting with exertion, his oddly shaped Pakari twisted from the exertion, he wrenched it out of the way and gingerly set it down away from the group. Typhon watched dispassionately as his teammate panted, clutching the wall for support.

"Come." Anubis aimed a kick at the exhausted Silicon Toa and walked past him into the glowing red cavern.

"My future awaits."

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Typhon gently set Nokama down on the ground, running his fingers slowly over her shoulders. She shivered and inched away from him, making him frown. "Soon, you'll be mine." he said quietly. She glared at him.

"I will NEVER belong to you."

He frowned again. "So you think."

"So I KNOW."

Typhon felt his heart clench painfully at her words. Setting his jaw firmly, he looked away from her to prevent himself from doing anything stupid. Just the sight of her was enough to make him want to kill.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hera glaring at him. He sneered at her and turned back to Nokama. "Soon you won't have to worry, Ty." Hera said, her voice filled with malice. "She'll be gone and then your heart'll belong to you again. Just think. No more little Water Toa. Sounds good to me."

"Shut your mouth, Hera!" Typhon shouted, rounding on her furiously. "This whole time you've done nothing but make fun of me and what I do. Well guess what? You're done for! When those Toa come, I'll HELP them kill you!"

"Shut up!" Anubis's fist knocked first him, then her, down. "You obviously don't know who we're dealing with." he snarled, holding Hera up by her neck. "Did you recognize that green Toa? He's no ordinary Toa - he is Sylvaticus's descendant! Who knows what kind of powers he may possess? He could be my downfall! So, Miss Hothead," he said, shaking Hera irately, "your first priority upon their arrival will be to kill that Air Toa! I will not have another Le-Matoran upstart defeating me again!" He threw her to the floor, and she laid there for a moment, gasping and feeling her sore throat. Typhon, already on his feet, sneered at her again before Anubis rounded on him.

"And you! Losing your heart to our prisoner so easily? Do you want to go back to what you were before I made you what you are now? Huh? Answer me, Fearmaker!"

Typhon looked at his feet. "No." he said quietly.

"Raised by a Muaka in the bowel of the Le-Metru chute ways...I remember, Typhon. I remember your screams for death when I captured you."

"And how you told me I would not die yet." the Toa of Shadow frowned. "You said you had a greater destiny for me than the one I was following now...and you were going to give me that destiny whether I liked it or not." His eyes flashed angrily and he looked his leader in the eye. "Now that I think about it, I would rather have been killed along with the Muaka who raised me! Anything would be better than THIS!"

Anubis's voice was soft. "Are you challenging me, Typhon of Ta-Metru?"

Typhon went rigid with fear. The Itami leader's stance was casual, but there was no mistaking the voice, nor the fist that was opening and closing like a set of claws. He knew that posture. One foot forward, ready to throw him into the air and come down on an enemy in a vicious spin kick.

He took a step back. "No." he murmured, even softer than Anubis had been.

"What was that?" Anubis asked. "Say it louder, worm. I want your apology loud and clear."

Typhon's glare would have melted all the snow from Mount Ihu. "I am not challenging you, Anubis." he bit out. Behind him, Hestia snickered quietly. He made a mental note to hurt her when he got the chance.

"Good." Anubis said, sweeping past him. "Let's go. I can sense that blasted power screamer's aura not a mile away from shore. Hurry up. I want to get this over with."

"Sir..." Set's nervous voice spoke up.

"What?"

"What about Natay Mahi? What do we do with her? She could be useful as a slave, or...maybe not."

Anubis's mouth curled into a smirk.

"Rip her apart! I want to see her bleed!"

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"Hey Natay! I see island-shape!" Matau called down from the crow's nest. The Hordika leaned over to the side to see. Indeed, the distinct shape of Voya Nui was now in plain sight. The sun was just about to set, casting shadows over the island in long fingers, but the lava that ran down the central mountain's peak was unmistakable.

Yep, it was Voya Nui alright.

Natay grinned into the wind and sea spray. "Alright, you sad excuses fer Toa! I wanna see some action! Put yore backs into it!"

"Why I'm the one doing this is beyond me." Nuju grumbled, shoving his oar through the water. He looked across the boat at Whenua, who was also rowing alongside Vakama. "This is what you get for arguing with me all the time!" Whenua called back.

Nuju grunted. "Likewise."

Beside Whenua, Onewa sighed and continued to row. "It's our punishment." he said woefully.

"Punishment for what?"

"Fer bein' Toa, what else?" He gestured at Natay. "On'y reason she's not down here's cuz she ain't a Toa anymore."

"What about Matau?" Vakama grinned. Onewa grimaced up at the Toa of Air, who was dancing about in the crow's nest like a possessed Gukko bird.

"He doesn't count."

"Yeah, OK."

"I do TOO count as a Toa-hero!"

"Oh Mata Nui, please kill me now."

"Whoa, don't mess the pattern up, Onewa - it'll take at least an hour to get it back on track again!"

Natay shook her head as she listened to the banter going back and forth between the five Toa. They were still so young...she hated to lead them into such danger like this, but hey, they had a mission to complete. As did she. And her mission was to guide them through the danger. It was the least she could do, or so she felt, to repay her debt to Lhikan for helping her so much over the years.

And so, as she carefully steered the ship into the shallows of the Voya Nui shore, she was completely prepared for anything they might face.

Or so she thought.

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**Featured Song: "Failure's Not Flattering" (Theme of Nuju) -A New Found Glory**

**AN: And we're nearing the climax! Lol. Um, I'm not entirely sure how many chapters this has got left, but only a few, I'm sure. Or so I think XD -slapped- One more thing: do you think the other Toa Metru should find out that Matau is Sylvaticus's descendant? If so, then how should they find out? I have a small idea...but I'd like some more, plzkthnxbai.**

**Reviews?**


	20. Chapter 19: Hordika, Driven Under

**Almost done...almost. -eats the site- o-o;**

**The Painmaker**

**Chapter Nineteen: Hordika, Driven Under**

"_Do not deny how you feel." Sylvaticus whispered. "It only brings desolation to you."_

"_I...I can't." Lhikan's voice broke. "I can't, I can't!"_

"_Or is it WON'T?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice. "I know you love her, Lhikan...and I know she feels the same for you."_

"_What?" He looked up, shocked. "She...loves me too?"_

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Vakama leapt off the boat so fast that he fell face first into the sand of the island's shore. But in a second he was on his feet and shouting orders. "Hurry up, we gotta find them NOW!"

"Whoa, calm down there, Vak!" Natay shouted, hopping down after him. "Don't go rushin' off b'fore thinkin'!" He stopped and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"Now," Natay continued, "There's a way into the volcano that's real quick an' easy. It's a tunnel route, startin' somewhere over there." She pointed to a spot of overgrown ferns with her tail. Upon closer observation, it was found that these ferns were concealing something. Vakama wandered over cautiously to look. His eyes widened.

A small passageway was concealed by the ferns. He brushed them aside, noting the footprints and broken stems on some of the lower plants. His eyes locked with those of his teammates. With unspoken agreement, the five Toa Metru all filed into the cavern together, Vakama first, Matau last. Vakama held up one hand, and a fireball surrounded it, lighting the way. Ignoring Natay's angry protests, he proceeded forward, going at a quick pace.

His heart was pounding hard, the prospect of saving Nokama exciting him so bad he could barely breathe. Behind him, Nuju seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Or maybe the Toa of Ice was just tired. Either way, they were close. So close. So close to saving Nokama, it wasn't even funny. Natay didn't matter anymore, he was so close to achieving his goal...

Natay gave one last angry sigh before taking off after the five male Toa, shouting in a rage that they would all be killed and she wouldn't help them. That wasn't true, and she knew it. She'd die to protect these guys. _'Not so sure I won't anyway...'_ she thought dismally, shaking her head. Fortunately, her body was built for speed, and she caught up to them quickly. Skidding to a stop in front of Vakama, she turned and caught the Toa of Fire before he crashed into her.

"Now, b'fore y'go an' get yerselves caught, listen to me!" she snapped. "You've fought the Itami before - I get that. But ya gotta be even more careful now than ever. It won't take Anubis a second ta figger out where the confounded Blade is, and when 'e does, yer in trouble. You especially, Vakama - be careful." She ran her long claws over the massive boulder that had obviously been pushed aside to make way for another group. "They've just passed this way, coupla hours ago..." she murmured, sniffing it lightly. She began to run again, shouting behind herself, "C'mon! You were so eager to get to 'em, let's get goin'! Move it, Toa!"

They needed no second bidding.

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Hestia's head shot up from her position on the ground, and she got a small frown on her face. Then, bolting up, she ran to Anubis, shouting, "They're here!"

The Itami leader didn't even turn around to face her. "Excellent..." he muttered. "Two Gukkos with one stone. The Blade of Order, and the initial threat." He finally turned and surveyed his team with contemptuous eyes. "Itami, this is your chance. Don't miss it. Kill them, and be rewarded. Fail and die. Those are your only options. Am I understood?"

A chorus of, "Yes sir!" followed his words immediately. He smirked and looked at Typhon, who was looking at the ground. "Bring the prisoner and come with me. It's time to retrieve my prize."

Typhon nodded shortly and picked up Nokama, who was bound by the arms. She struggled wildly, screaming, "Put me down! You beast, put me down!" He responded with a sharp smack to the side of her head. She cried out, thoroughly dazed. Osiris cringed. Typhon had certainly changed for the worst on this little adventure. From voice of reason to almost as sadistic as Anubis in two weeks...that wasn't good. It made him wonder how easy he himself could change. It didn't bear thinking about. Gripping his spiked hammer tightly, he and the other three who were left listened intently to the now audible sounds of the Toa Metru coming towards them.

"No mercy." Hera snarled.

"Of course." Set replied.

"Kill 'em all." Hestia grinned.

"'Specially that power screamer." Osiris added, shivering at the thought of another encounter with Natay. He had given her some pretty terrible injuries in the final fight between the Mahi and the Itami, but she had inflicted much more upon him than he had on her. As a...whatever she was now, she was probably even worse. He suppressed his shudders and stood firm.

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Vakama burst into the large cavern in the middle of Mt. Valamai with his disk launcher fully charged and ready. A fire disk was loaded into it, ready to be launched at any moment. Onewa, Nuju, Whenua, and Matau all ran out beside him, their weapons drawn. And Natay stood a few feet behind him, crouched on all fours like a great beast, a deep growl emanating from her throat. The six stared at the four Itami, who glared back, their weapons ready as well.

"Metru scum." the one called Hera snarled, glaring at Matau. Matau glared right back. "Itami dark-murder." he retorted.

Set pointed his broadsword at them. "We challenge you to get past us." he said, his deep voice booming through the cavern. "We challenge you to another duel, Toa Metru - like the one on the beach of your island, only better. No rules, everything goes. Including death."

"Oh, don't worry." Whenua said coldly. "We fully plan on killing you all."

"Let's see it then, earthy one," Hestia shot back. "If you're so tough, then come get us!"

"Yeah!" Osiris added, gripping his hammer even tighter. He looked at Nuju, a smirk forming on his face. "Ladies first."

Nuju grinned. "Then by all means, go."

The Toa of Death stopped, confused. "Wait a minute, I'm not-" Nuju's crystal spike slammed into his mask, cutting him off. "ATTACK!" Hera roared, charging forward. Her double-bladed axe almost hit Matau, but the Toa of Air was too quick and dodged.

Hestia ran around the four at Onewa, who stood, ready for her at any time. His proto pitons caught her in the side, but she kept coming. The javelin hit him in the stomach, knocking him back. He felt blood on his body, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was the grinning little insect in front of him, the one who had to die for her crimes against the world.

With a roar of rage, he charged, swinging his pitons wildly. Hestia just barely managed to block, being driven back as she did so. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the orange tail snap out, severing in half the shaft of Osiris's hammer. The Toa of Death forgot Nuju for a moment and instead concentrated on Natay, throwing the broken part of his weapon at her. The tail blade flashed out again, slicing that neatly in half as well. This was followed by a loud power scream attack that blasted him off his feet.

Natay helped Nuju to his feet, steadying him. "You OK?" she asked. He nodded, fixing his mask. "Yes. Just a little fazed." She nodded as well, seeing he was indeed alright. She didn't see the dark shape come up behind her. She didn't feel the handle of the broadsword that cracked down upon her head, knocking her unconscious immediately. She didn't hear the cruel laugh as Set kicked her unceremoniously out of his way, preparing to finish her off.

"NO!" Whenua hurled himself onto the Toa of Silicon, who roared with anger and shock, trying to throw him off. "GET OFF!" he screamed, thrashing about wildly as Whenua beat him over the head with his earthshock drills. The Toa of Earth hung on to him grimly, not letting go for a second.

Matau cried out in pain as a blast of acid hit him in the shoulder. He clung to it, hissing between his teeth as it smoked painfully. He glared up at Hera, who was laughing as she twirled her axe between her fingers. "Sylvaticus's son, indeed," she snorted contemptuously. "You can't even hold me off! Your ancestor held us all off with just herself! Your combined might does nothing, waste of life!"

"What?" Nuju stopped and stared at the Toa of Air, who was glaring hellfire at the Toa of Acid. "Sylvaticus's son? Matau?"

"I don't know or care how you figure-know that," Matau snarled. "But I'm gonna make you suffer-pay for takin' Nokama!" His mask began to glow, and he was transformed into a giant green Kane-Ra, snorting and pawing the ground ferociously. Hera's eyes widened as he charged at her. She dove out of the way, but was hit by a blast of fire from Vakama, who had been waiting for the right moment, hidden by his Huna.

"Vak, get outta here!" Whenua shouted, still riding on Set's shoulders.

"What!" Vakama screamed angrily, glaring at his friend.

"Go find Nokama!" Whenua yelled back, giving Set another sound thump on the head. "We can handle this, go save her! NOW!"

Vakama nodded, understanding now. He took off in the direction of the large door that presumably held Anubis, Nokama, and Typhon, who also wasn't there. He grimaced at the thought of facing two Toa Itami alone. Well, he wouldn't be alone, Nokama was there, but he didn't know how much she'd be able to help him. What if she was bound?

"Stop him!" Hera screamed, pointing at him in a frenzy, saliva flying from her mouth. She screamed again as Matau slammed into her, still in his Kane-Ra form, knocking her into the wall. "I DON'T THINK SO!" the Toa of Air roared, rearing up in front of her. She had time for one last scream as his hooves crashed down on top of her.

"HERA!" Osiris cried, staring at the crushed form of the Toa of Acid in horror.

Matau roared again, rearing up in triumph. He put his face right into the dying Itami's. The last thing Hera saw before slipping into black was the face of the one who had killed her.

"FREEDOM!"

"You'll pay!" Hestia's javelin hit him in the shoulder. He roared once more, rearing up and falling to the floor with a crash. A flash of green, and the Toa of Air was back, cringing on the floor with the javelin sticking out of his shoulder. Hestia wrenched it out cruelly, reveling in his cries of pain. Then, whirling around, she sliced it across the chest of Onewa, who was charging her from behind. Her foot flashed out, catching him in the chest as well and knocking him to the ground. He staggered to his feet painfully, swaying for a second.

But only a second.

He hit Hestia like a thunderbolt, knocking her off her feet, and sending them both rolling. Matau sat up painfully, trying to staunch the flow from his wound while watching in horror as the two Toa battled.

"Remember this?" Hestia hissed, jabbing at Onewa with her javelin, looking for an opening. "Remember how I beat you to the dust?"

"I WON'T BE BOUND THIS TIME!" Onewa roared, punching at her crazily in sheer blinding rage. "Last time I held back, but this time, you're DEAD!"

"Oh yeah, little Toa?" Hestia sneered. "You couldn't defeat me last time, how can you expect to now?"

"SHUT UP!" Onewa screamed, swinging at her wildly. Her javelin hit him once more in the chest, knocking him to the ground. She loomed over him, blade point at his throat.

She grinned.

Natay moaned slightly, her consciousness returning painfully. Her head ached abominably, but at least she was awake again. She looked around. Matau was on the ground, nursing a large shoulder wound next to the body of Hera, who had been crushed by some giant thing. Whenua was on Set's shoulders, beating him over the head while Nuju's crystal spikes threw out sparks as they clashed with Osiris's spiked hammer.

Onewa...?

Her eyes widened in horror as Hestia grinned, drawing back her javelin for the final blow. The Toa of Stone was on the ground, watching the Toa of Nightmare with fear in his orange eyes.

Natay didn't think, couldn't think, couldn't breathe. She jumped to her feet and threw herself forward, grunting in pain as the javelin pierced her through the chest at the same time that her tail blade lodged itself into Hestia's chest. It snapped and broke, sending another wave of pain through her broken body. She watched the Toa of Nightmare scream and fall.

The world was slowing down.

Slower...slower...slower...

Stop.

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Nokama shivered, terrified, as Anubis paced around her, a smirk on his battered mask. She was tied to the huge statue of a Toa-like figure, holding a forge hammer up, wearing a Huna on its face. She couldn't move, and she was about to die. She knew it. Typhon lurked in the background, staring at her emotionlessly. Did he not care?

Obviously not.

The statue she was tied to was overlooking a vast river of lava that flowed and gurgled below the three on the ledge. Three step-like structures rose from the pit, creating a pathway to the other side of the volcano, where what looked like a forge table and several tools sat, obviously unused for centuries.

"Finally...it is time for me to take what is mine..." the Toa of Chaos whispered, reaching towards her. She began to struggle desperately, but to no avail. The ropes were too tight. He laid his hand on her chest, right in the middle of her silver armor. His fingers sunk into the armor. Nokama let out a sound, somewhere between a gasp and a gurgle, as Anubis's fingers began to search even deeper, sinking into flesh as easily as they had sunk into armor. She gasped in pain. An icy cold was penetrating her body, sinking into her very being until...

Anubis retracted his hand so suddenly that she slumped, still gasping in pain.

"What is this?" he demanded, glaring at her as Typhon looked on, interested now. Anubis's eyes burned hellfire at Nokama. "Where is the Blade of Order?"

"I...don't...have it." Nokama replied, still not able to breathe entirely. The cold wouldn't go away...she needed heat...where was Vakama?

Vakama?

"Wretch!" Anubis's hook sliced through the ropes binding her to the statue as his fist slammed into her face, knocking her to the ground with a crash. He held her up by her neck, hook digging into her throat.

"You said you had it! Where is it?"

"I never said I had anything." she retorted. She smirked. "I don't know why you thought I had it, but you were wrong. I don't have anything." Her smirk broadened. "Face it, Anubis - you were wrong, and all this was for nothing. You don't have the Blade of Order, and you never will!"

"LIES!" he screamed, throwing her to the ground. His hook raised up, ready to gut her like a fish. Nokama's eyes widened in terror, and then -

"Let her go!"

Her eyes snapped to the source of the voice as Anubis's did the same and Typhon gasped.

"The Fire Toa!" Typhon cried, his scythe out and pointed at his adversary.

"You!" Anubis spat.

Nokama's spirit soared.

"Vakama!" she shouted.

Vakama's heart pounded at the sight of her. She was alive! Battered, bruised, scared, but alive.

Alive!

"Let her go!" he demanded again.

"No." Typhon growled, stepping forward, gripping his scythe tightly between both hands. "You will not interfere, Fire Toa. She is mine."

"We'll see about that!" Vakama's disk launcher was out again in a flash, pointed at the Toa of Shadow. Neither moved as they watched each other, waiting for one to give and attack.

Anubis stared at the Toa Metru of Fire intently. He had an aura of confidence that he hadn't had before. He looked ready to take on a Great Being if he had to to save this girl. But not only that, something else was different...

Thump, thump.

What was that?

Thump, thump.

A heartbeat?

Thump, thump.

Wait.

Thump, thump.

A heartbeat!

Thump, thump.

Could it possibly be...?

Thump, thump.

His eyes widened as he understood suddenly. He had been looking for the Blade of Order in the wrong person. The one he had needed he had thought irrelevant, had blasted off the pier on some little out-of-the-way island two weeks ago, had brushed off as weak and unimportant...

Thump, thump.

How could he have been so STUPID?

Thump, thump.

He could see the note Lhikan had written now, stating that HE, not SHE, had been given the Blade of Order to protect, but without knowing it...HE, not SHE...

Thump, thump.

He grinned.

Thump, thump.

"There it is!"

Thump, THUMP.

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**Featured Song: "Headstrong" (Theme of Matau) -Trapt**

**AN: Ai. Almost there...almost. Hopefully this gets done soon, ahaha. By now it should be obvious where the Blade of Order is, though. Not much of a fight scene, I know, but the Itami-Metru fight isn't as important as the one coming up. I'm trying to save up ideas (not to mention time) for that one. So meh. Use your imaginations, people! Lol. Yeah I know that's my job here, but whatever. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Reviews?**


	21. Chapter 20: Chaos Undone

**Twenty chapters :o Heckyes! I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed so far. Your support is much appreciated :)**

**The Painmaker  
Chapter Twenty: Chaos Undone**

"_Ice cold..." Terios whispered, feeling Lhikan's forehead gently. He looked up at Raura, who was hovering nervously above him. "He's cold! Can you do something?"_

_She shook her head. "I...I don't know, Teri." she said. "I can try...but there's no guarantee it'll work."_

"_Do it." They both turned to look at Shruikan, who had just spoken. The Toa of Thunder clung to Teeboe, his face pale, chest and torso wrapped in bandages to keep himself from literally falling apart. He looked down at his younger brother, unconscious on the ground and cold as ice. "Don't let him die. Heal him!"_

"_I'll try." Raura knelt and laid both small hands on Lhikan's forehead, drawing her life energy to her mask's power. A small light glowed between her hands, and she lowered it to his head. Behind her, she heard Kaylani give a muffled sob, and her heart clenched guiltily. Her leader's life depended on her now. It was all up to her to heal him..._

"_Wake up, Lhikan!" she cried. "The Painmaker is defeated, and you are victorious! But you must live." She closed her eyes, feeling the power flow through her to him._

"_I am Raura, Toa Mahi of Crystal, and I order you to open your eyes!"_

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Onewa closed his eyes, waiting for the javelin to hit.

It never did.

Something hit him in the chest, knocking him down. He heard a loud roar and a scream, of pain or rage, he didn't know. He sat up as blood spattered all over him. But he felt nothing. He touched one hand to the ground and looked down. Dark red blood coated the dirt, and it wasn't his.

Onewa frowned. What had just happened...?

But then he looked up...and gasped.

Natay was standing in front of him, but he couldn't see her face. The silver ridges on her back in place of a Rhotuka spinner quivered, as did her limbs, almost as if she were in intense pain.

"Natay?" he asked, touching her on the shoulder. "Are you OK?"

She coughed suddenly, and blood flew from her mouth. She grabbed onto him, then fell to her knees, still coughing and holding her mouth with one clawed hand. Her long tail flopped uselessly.

"Natay? What's wrong?" Onewa bent down to look at her and gasped. He could see, clear as day, the large hole in her chest, right below her heart light. He felt his forehead break out in sweat as she choked again, trying desperately to stem the flow from her wound. He grabbed her and held her up, trying to ignore the way her body shook. He had seen one other body do this. A Kane-Ra had gotten into a fight with a Tunneler in Po-Metru. The giant Rahi bull had convulsed just like this when the Tunneler had speared it with its own horns.

She was dying.

He held her in his arms as she reached up and touched his face gently, smiling. "On...Onewa..."

"I'm here..." he said. "I'm here Natay, you can't die. Not while I'm here for you...not like this..."

"I'm s-sorry..." she croaked.

He could feel his heart cracking.

Snap. Snap.

Something else coughed loudly, and he looked up. Lodged in Hestia's chest was the broken off tip of Natay's long tail blade, and her wound was deep. It was obvious that she was about to die.

Hestia met Onewa's grief-stricken eyes with her own. She laughed, but it quickly turned into a choke. "I...have done my...duty." she murmured, laying on her side and curling up into a ball. She shuddered, feeling the life leaving her body. "I have...made the power screamer bleed..."

"You sick monster." Onewa whispered.

Snap. Snap.

The Toa of Nightmare coughed again, and laid still. Her eyes dimmed to black and her heart light went out as her breath stopped. Onewa returned his attention to Natay, who was gasping in his arms.

"Natay, you can't leave me..." he said, feeling tears begin to streak down his face again. No. This was exactly like his dream aboard the Freedom, when he had gone out to make sure the tiller was still lashed and had collapsed. But it was a dream! He hadn't expected it to actually come TRUE...

Natay reached one claw up to touch his face gently. She smiled. Her body still shook, but not as violently now. In fact, she appeared to be settling down.

"I...love..." she rasped, getting cut off on the last word by a terrible choking cough. "Who?" Onewa asked desperately, still holding her. "Who do you love, Natay?" Some of his tears dripped onto her face and slid off, mingling with hers. He couldn't believe this was happening to him. First the Krahka, now Natay. That was two girls in the space of two years that he had lost.

"...love..." She shuddered, feeling her body begin to go numb. "On...ewa...do...favor...?"

"Anything." He could barely stop the flood of tears that were threatening to break through. He watched as Natay took a deep breath, obviously fighting for these last few moments of her life.

Snap. Snap.

"...take boat...an'...SINK me...with her...is...OK?"

Mata Nui. She wanted him to sink the Freedom...with her on it. She loved that boat, why would she want it sunk? He knew the answer to that. It was BECAUSE she loved the boat that she'd want to go down with it. That boat was the last link to her previous life, before being mutated into the ugly, yet absolutely beautiful, creature she was now. Her friends were gone, and soon, she would be too.

Onewa gasped as he felt her body begin to slump. "No!" he cried, shaking her hard. "Stop it! Yore not gonna die! I won't let you!"

Natay coughed again, her hand sliding off his face and landing on the floor with a quiet plop.

Snap. Snap.

"Come here." He brought his face closer to hers, wondering what she wanted. Then he felt her lips touch his in a soft, yet lingering kiss, and froze for a moment, completely shocked. She pulled away, her yellow eyes closing slowly.

He felt her go limp in his arms. "Na...Natay?" he gasped, looking at her serene face. "Natay?" He shook her hard, willing her to wake up. But she wasn't going to. Not ever. He knew it. After all this time...two and a half weeks, and she was gone. She had spoken about wanting to go home so bad, and now she never would.

Onewa's tears erupted as his heart broke.

Snap. Snap.

All other activity in the cavern stopped at the agonized scream that penetrated its very foundation. Whenua paused in lifting Set's immobile body off of himself and gasped.

"No..." he whispered.

SNAP!

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"There it is!"

Vakama barely had time to dodge as Typhon's shadow blast came hurtling at him from the giant scythe. He rolled, landing on his knees, and fired a random disk at the Toa of Shadow, not caring which one it was. His enemy dodged with inhuman speed, and came at him again, red eyes mad with rage.

"VAKAMA!" Nokama screamed, still on the ground. He ignored her and kept fighting, knowing this was his one and only chance to save her. He fell back on his butt when a well-placed uppercut sent him flying backwards, nearly knocking him over. Vakama growled angrily. He threw himself forward and slammed into Typhon, sending them both to the floor.

Typhon felt his ribs crack and grunted in pain. He could barely think from the insane rage that was coursing through him right now. All he could think of was how this...this...this INSECT was trying to take his beloved Nokama away from him. And that wasn't about to happen.

With a battle cry that had Vakama stiffening, Typhon leapt forward, planning on slicing his hated enemy in half. Vakama sidestepped, and dodged when Typhon tried to come at him from the back when the frontal assault failed. But he didn't expect the Shadow Toa to turn his body completely and ram a fist into his stomach. Thrown off, Vakama stumbled back, closing one eye in pain. The Fire Toa moved forward again, attacking though still disoriented from the hit. Typhon managed to land another blow to his mouth when Vakama jumped back into the battle.

Forming a ball of pure shadow energy between his long fingers, Typhon flung it at Vakama, who was blasted backwards again.

He turned a flip in the air and landed, shoving another disk into his launcher and firing again. This time, Typhon was unable to dodge, and the disk hit him in the chest, blasting him into the nearest wall, which was a good thirty feet away. He slid down, completely winded, but Vakama was already moving again. He pounced on the injured Shadow Toa, sending a tightly clenched fist into his jaw. Once again, Typhon felt something break. Mata Nui, he was getting his butt handed to him! As he grabbed Vakama's other fist and began to struggle with him, he saw Nokama from the corner of his eye, screaming his enemy's name.

His blood boiled.

With a scream of fury, he wrenched Vakama off of himself and threw the Toa of Fire straight at Anubis. Anubis was only too ready.

His hand snatched out and grabbed Vakama by the neck, squeezing cruelly. His eyes burned even more crazily than Typhon's going from red to white to red again.

"Now to take what is rightfully mine!" he hissed, slamming his enemy into the statue and pinning him by the neck with his hook. Vakama gasped, unable to break free. The pressure on his throat was cutting off his air, and he could barely breathe. What was going on? What did the crazy idiot mean, what was rightfully his? And what could Vakama possibly have that Anubis wanted?

Oh no.

He knew what it was. And just then, he knew exactly where the Blade of Order was, and why Natay had cautioned him to be so careful before charging in here to save Nokama the way he did.

He saw through blurring eyes the hand that descended into his chest, sinking deep. A burning, icy pain shot through him as the hand probed deeper. He jerked his head back, gasping for air as the side of the hook dug in deeper. It didn't hurt...it didn't hurt...

Heck, it was EXCRUCIATING. It was all he could do to not pass out right then and there. He closed his eyes as he felt the hand grab a hold of something long and hard...

...then let out a painful gasp as it jerked out again, ripping a long golden sword with a bloodred pommel stone out of his chest. Blood spurted in a long arc from the wound.

"NO!" Nokama screamed. Everything seemed to be in slow motion for her. Vakama staggered and fell as Anubis stepped away from him, an expression of mad joy on his battered face. The Blade of Order glowed brightly, the pommel stone pulsing like a heart. The beat was strong, fast, as though angry. Once again, she wondered how everything had come to this.

"Now...to try it out." Anubis's eyes went from Nokama to Typhon to Vakama and then back to Typhon. He swung the Blade down. A loud roar screamed out, and Typhon was knocked off his feet by the concussive blast with a shout of pain and fear. He hit the wall again, and bounced off with a sickening crunch. Mata Nui. If his ribs weren't broken before, they surely were now. He could hardly move from the unearthly pain that was flowing through him right now.

He swore angrily, beating the ground with his fist. His scythe lay a few feet away, the handle snapped in half. It was amazing how much pain he was in at the moment.

Anubis's laughter echoed throughout the cavern. His eyes burned even brighter as they focused on the glowing Blade clutched in his right hand and he laughed harder.

"Wonderful!" he shouted, swinging it upward. This time, however, no power was released. "Chaos and Order combined in one!" His eyes fell upon Nokama, and the elation on his face was replaced with pure, unadulterated rage.

"You!" he spat. "You're the one who almost robbed me of my power! You will DIE!"

"N-no!" Vakama shouted, trying to rise. Anubis gave him a swift kick in the ribs, knocking him into the statue again.

Typhon's head lifted groggily. Nokama? Anubis was going to kill Nokama? No! Not going to happen! Not while he was around to stop it. Staggering to his feet, he picked up the broken-off blade of his scythe and charged forward...

Nokama couldn't think, couldn't move. The glowing golden blade was raised in the air, already sparking with barely suppressed power. Oh Mata Nui, she was going to die. She didn't want to die. She still had a full life ahead of her, filled with joy and hope and happiness and love! She wasn't supposed to die yet!

Things were moving slower again. She saw the Blade flash down, saw the concussive energy begin to build...

THOK.

She looked up and screamed.

Typhon gasped in pain, clutching the sword that was embedded deep into his chest. Anubis gasped as well, the blade of Typhon's great scythe buried in his shoulder. "Fool!" he rasped. Typhon grunted and fell backwards onto Nokama.

"Typhon!" she screamed. She carefully picked the dying Toa up, holding him close. Not even caring that all the blood from his wound was getting on her, either. His breathing was ragged and shallow. His red eyes opened and gazed up at her, glazed over with pain.

"I...know who...I am." he muttered, touching her cheek lightly with one bloodied hand. He smiled, closing his eyes again.

"Fool..." Anubis gasped again, dropping the Blade of Order and clutching his wounded shoulder. His fingers curled around the broken handle of the scythe blade, but for some reason could not pull it out. Growling in pain, he bent down to pick up the Blade of Order again, but before he could touch it, a fist shot out and knocked him back again. He staggered backwards, completely winded.

"Who did that?" he demanded angrily, whirling around.

"_I did."_ said a voice. His eyes widened in horror.

A tall green Toa, with a deep green Miru on her face, stood in front of the Blade of Order, which was now pulsing harder than ever.

"You!" he hissed.

Sylvaticus glared at him, eyes filled with loathing. _"Me."_ she growled. "This Blade can be held by only one person - its true owner, which you fail to be." Her red eyes blazed with anger. _"Chaos can never combine with Order!"_

He growled and lunged for it, but she was too quick. She snatched it up with inhuman speed and threw it at the feet of Vakama, who had just staggered up, using the statue for support. His eyes widened as it glowed and pulsed in front of him.

"_Take it."_ Sylvaticus ordered, her eyes still on Anubis. _"Take it...and destroy him!"_

"Vakama, no!" Nokama cried. "Don't do it! He'll kill you! Vakama!"

"_DO IT!"_ Sylvaticus shouted, her voice rising to impossible heights. _"Or dost thou want thy friend's memory to leave in vain, Vakama Metru?"_

Although he didn't know what she was talking about, he knew what he had to do. Grasping the golden sword by its handle, he felt a calming peace steal over him. He closed his eyes, letting it flow through him, and then opened them again. He pointed the Blade at Anubis.

"Time to die."

To his surprise, Anubis laughed hysterically. "Is that so, little Toa?" he asked, smiling maniacally. "Is that so?" His eyes turned white, and his body began to grow and convulse horribly.

"It is time for YOU to die!"

With a scream, Anubis was lifted into the air.

"I WILL SHOW YOU MY TRUE POWER!"

He convulsed one last time, and then, instead of a lackluster black Toa, a huge...THING...stood in the cavern, roaring and slamming its gigantic tail down on the ground.

Vakama gasped and took a step back. Holy...jeez, that thing was HUGE! How could they expect him to beat it, even WITH the Blade of Order? Behind him, Nokama gasped as well, still holding onto Typhon's dying body.

Vakama coughed and felt his chest, which had stopped bleeding some time ago. Although there was no mark, a sharp pain still throbbed inside of him, originating at the spot where the Blade of Order had been ripped out of him. The sword, devoid of any blood, scratches, or marks, still glowed vibrantly.

Without warning, one of Anubis's giant limbs shot out, almost hitting him. He dodged just in time, jumping up onto the arm and running up it to the head. The creature roared and thrashed about, trying to shake him off. He fell to his stomach and clung grimly on, still making his way up to the head. The voices of his friends echoed through his head.

"_I've been having these weird sleep-dreams lately," Matau confessed. "Someone keeps callin' my name, but I don't know who. And I can't seem to find-seek them out. It's always dark, but I can hear them saying my name over and over, like a chant-song..."_

"_We have to go after her." Whenua declared. "Blade or not, she's our sister, and more importantly, our FRIEND. What kind of friends would we be if we let her get taken and did nothing about it...?"_

_Nuju grinned. "You did a pretty good job of it. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were about to attack me..."_

"_If you just sit there and watch her, nothin's EVER gonna happen between you. She'll just lose interest an' move on, most likely to someone like Nuju'r Matau. And somehow," Onewa grinned, "I don't think you'd like to see her tellin' Matau how hot he is, huh...?"_

"_The Kane-Ra, war-ravaged future. The Ghekula, unwanted transformation. The Bula berry, unrequited love. And...the Gukko bird, sacrifice. All horrible things to receive, but together...well, I think you can understand the enormity of it."_

_Natay smiled. "And thus, shall this ship, formerly the Makuta, be known forevermore as the Freedom, as witnessed by Natareda Mahi, former Toa Mahi of Power Scream, an' first of the Toa Hordika..."_

At the last one, Vakama felt his heart clench guiltily. Narrowing his eyes, he let out a war cry and jabbed the Blade of Order straight into Anubis's thick neck. The chaos monster roared and screamed, bucking, throwing him off. He landed heavily on his feet. He grabbed up his disk launcher again and fired a myriad of random high offense power disks at it. They merely bounced off the creature's skin.

Vakama growled and formed a huge fire ball between his fingers and flung it at the monster. It had about the same effect as a snowball being thrown at the Mangai volcano on Mata Nui.

Just then, everything stopped as the monster began to laugh again. Raising its front limbs, it brought them down hard on the ground. The volcano immediately went into turmoil. Chunks of lava flew from the magma lake below them, hitting the statue, forge, and anything else in their way. The creature's laugh continued as it thrashed about, bringing the active volcano into a frenzy. Vakama just barely managed to dive out of the way of a large chunk of rock that was spiraling towards him.

"H...how can I kill this thing?" he gasped. "Nothing works!"

"Hit the jewel...!" He whirled around at the sound of Typhon's voice. The Toa of Shadow was still in Nokama's arms, but was trying to sit up. "The...the jewel!" he rasped, pointing feebly up at the monster's head. "I...tried to hit it...before...only way to stop...volcano erupting...is to hit the jewel! Kill him and...stop Chaos!"

And, clear as day, there was a bright red jewel on the monster's forehead. "It wasn't there before!" Vakama exclaimed. "How do I know it'll work?"

"Invisible...as Toa..." Typhon rasped. "But still there...hit...the jewel!" His body gave a gigantic shudder, and his feet drummed the floor convulsively. "Please..." he whispered.

"Don't do it, Vakama!" Nokama cried, tears streaming down her face. "You'll be killed!" Her hand was curled around the pendant around her neck, he noticed. He smiled.

"No I won't." he said.

She glared at him. "How do you know?" she demanded as the volcano gave another roar and spat up more molten rock. "How in the world do you know?"

"Because." He turned away from her to face Sylvaticus, who nodded at him. "I'm Vakama, Toa Metru of Fire, and successor of Lhikan, Toa Mahi of Fire. And I'm not in the mood to die just yet."

"YOU SHALL NOT ESCAPE!" the black creature roared, swinging one gigantic limb towards the Toa of Fire. "I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

"_Strike!"_ Sylvaticus cried from behind him. Vakama nodded.

"This is suicide, alright..." he laughed bitterly. "Self-righteous suicide. But necessary." He leaped up into the air, the golden Blade of Order clutched in his right hand and his disk launcher in his left. The bloodred pommel stone pulsed faster and faster as he loaded the sword into the launcher and got closer to the beast that roared and struck out at him in a frenzy. But it was unable to touch him. Some shielding force, stronger than that of any Mask of Shielding, protected him, prevented the gigantic claws from touching him at all.

"I am Vakama, Toa of Fire and leader of the Toa Metru!" he roared, bringing the Blade and the disk launcher behind his head. "This is for everyone you've ever hurt or killed! This is for my friends, who you and your team tried to destroy! This is for Natay, who lost everything because of you! This is for Lhikan, who passed this duty down to me! This is for Sylvaticus, who fought you before! And this..." He brought the launcher around in a shining arc, preparing for the strike.

"This is for ME!"

"VAKAMA!" Nokama screamed from the ground. In her arms, Typhon opened his eyes and smiled. "G...go get him, Fire Toa..." he whispered.

Sylvaticus's glowing red eyes got brighter.

"_STRIKE!"_ she shouted.

With a war cry, Vakama shot the Blade of Order at the chaos monster. It shot forward, straight and true, directly into the bright red jewel in the monster's forehead.

All was silent.

The red jewel burst, showering down in a million pieces as Vakama landed. With the Blade of Order still stuck in his forehead, Anubis let out a screaming roar, staggering about. Rocks fell from the ceiling as the creature continued to thrash, and then, finally, fell from the ledge into the molten river below. He hit with a large splash, sending lava up onto the ledge. Vakama leaned over the edge and peered at his enemy. The black creature was no more, and a lackluster black Toa looked back up at him with hate and fear in its red eyes. Then, it sank beneath the lava and was gone forever.

Vakama gasped and fell backwards, one hand over his eyes. A hand touched his arm, and he looked up. Sylvaticus was kneeling beside him and smiling gently. "Well done, Vakama." she said. He groaned in response, closing his eyes again.

"The world is forever in your debt."

"Typhon..." He looked up at the sound of Nokama's voice and got up painfully, going over the her. She was still kneeling over the body of Typhon, who was barely breathing.

The Toa of Shadow opened his eyes at Vakama's approach and smiled. "I...need to thank you."

"For what?" Vakama asked. "It's my fault you're dying." He knelt beside Nokama and took her hand in his. "If I had been able to save her...you wouldn't be..." He was unable to say it.

Typhon coughed painfully. "Maybe so." he said. "But...now I know who I really am...and I what I should have been." He closed his eyes. "Hera, fire. Hestia, stone. Set, earth. Osiris, ice. Typhon, water. And Sylvaticus, air." His eyes opened. "We were to be the Toa Origina, the team that Lady Sylvaticus led." He looked up at Sylvaticus, and she smiled at him.

"_I hold no grudge against thee, Typhon."_ she said. _"I just wish I had been able to save you and the others sooner."_

"It's...fine." he murmured. "They are already...saved. Now...it's my turn." He turned his head to look up at Nokama. "You...you showed me that no one is truly hopeless...thank you, Nokama...thank you...from ALL the Toa Origina."

"Y-you're welcome." Nokama's voice was shaky as she fought off tears. "Typhon, don't die...please..."

He reached a hand up and wiped her eyes gently. "Pretty girls...should not cry." he murmured, a soft smile on his face. He shuddered. "I only wish we could have met under different circumstances. But I doubt things would be much different." His dimmed eyes fell upon Vakama, who stiffened. "Take care of her, Fire Toa. I'll be...watching..."

His hand, held in Nokama's twitched and went limp as his heart light went out and his eyes closed. Vakama gently pulled Nokama into his arms as she began to sob, and just held her for a moment.

He couldn't believe he had done it. He had killed the Painmaker...by himself. Well, he had had help from Typhon's telling him where to hit, and from the Blade of Order, but other than that...the only thing he had to thank was his disk launcher. He laughed softly at the thought and pulled away from Nokama.

"Ready to go home?" he asked.

She nodded and stood up shakily. He gently wrapped an arm around her waist and she helped him to stand, knowing how tired he was...and how bad his injuries were. He didn't show it, but she knew he was hurting pretty badly. From the look of things, a couple of his ribs were broken.

And so, together, they left the cavern that was now the tomb of a hero forever.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Whenua, Nuju, and Matau were standing around two shapes on the ground, all three with bowed heads. As Nokama watched, a single tear fell from Matau's face as he began to sob. Upon closer observation, it became clear that one of the two on the ground was Onewa, and he was holding onto an orange shape that was covered in blood and completely still. Holy...that was a Toa Hordika that the Toa of Stone was holding! But she was...different. This must be Natareda Mahi, the one Anubis had spoken of. Former Toa Mahi of Power Scream.

"Oh Mata Nui..." she heard Vakama whisper. His grip on her waist tightened, almost as if he were afraid of falling over. "Not Natay..." He knelt next to the dead Hordika, gently touching her face. She looked like she had died in intense pain. He looked up at Onewa, whose face he couldn't see. "What happened?"

Onewa didn't answer, just said, "She wants to us to sink the _Freedom_ with her on it. It'll be her final resting place."

Vakama nodded. He understood. For the second time, his friend had had the one he had fallen for taken away from him, and he had been unable to do a thing about it. He could understand how Onewa felt, but only a little. After all, Nokama had only been kidnapped, not killed. And although he had despaired sometimes, he HAD gotten her back...

But Natay was never coming back.

Onewa was in shock. Natareda Mahi, Toa Mahi of Power Scream, the one he loved more than anything, was dead. It bordered on ironic how these things always seemed to happen to him. Nuju called it losing her, but she wasn't lost. She was dead, and no matter what any of them did, they couldn't bring her back. The Toa Mahi were now no more, all of them dead and gone. The legacy of Mahi Nui was over. The cycle that had began with the betrayal of Nidhiki and the death of Rostu had finally been completed. Not even Lhikan had managed to escape it.

With Nokama holding his hand, Vakama silently led the procession back to the waiting ship. The _Freedom_ gave a harsh, screaming groan when Onewa stepped aboard with Natay in his arms. Then, it groaned again and fell silent.

"It's in mourning..." Nuju murmured, patting the head of Matau, who was still crying into his shoulder.

"I hate this!" the Toa of Air sobbed, tears splattering all over his friend's chest. "Why did she have to die-go?"

"We can't stop the process of life." Nuju said gently, patting him on the shoulder and trying to control his own grief. "Part of that process is dying. I wish it wasn't, but it is."

"She wanted to die." Whenua muttered, standing at the railing. "What?" Matau asked, lifting his head to look at him. The Toa of Earth spoke again, louder this time.

"She wanted to die." he said. "All of her friends were gone, she was a mutated monster with no future and a war-ridden past. She was desperate to die by then." He looked over at Onewa, who was laying Natay's body to the long deck table gently. The Toa of Stone looked to be in more pain than any had ever seen. Not even losing the Krahka had done this to him. But he hadn't been able to get that close to the Krahka. Yes, he had liked her, and yes, they had spent time together, but only days, by all accounts. He had known Natay for two and a half weeks. He had hated her at first, but those negative feelings had turned around so rapidly...and now she was gone forever.

Whenua sighed as Onewa took a seat right next to the table. "I'm gonna stay here till the voyage's over." the Toa of Stone announced, not looking at any of them. "I'm gonna watch over her body until it's time to...to..." He stopped, unable to go on.

The Toa of Earth smiled gently and patted his shoulder.

"You do that, Onewa. I'm sure she'd appreciate it."

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**Featured Song: "Down With The Sickness" (Vakama's Theme) -Disturbed**

**AN: Well, only the epilogue left, guys. Thanks so much for all the support and help you've given me...it means way too much for me to express.**

**Reviews?**


	22. Epilogue

**And here's the last of it. Three months, and twenty chapters, not to mention prologue and epilogue. Not too bad for what I'm usually capable of.**

**The Painmaker**

**Epilogue**

The silver ship floated gently on the surf as a bundle wrapped in a silk sheet was carried aboard and through the doorway of the cabins to a small bed in the corner. A white blanket was pulled over the body as it lay on the bed.

Onewa sighed as he covered Natay's body with the blanket and knelt down by the bed. Gently, he touched her cheek, covered by the silk sheet she was wrapped in, and bowed his head. After a few moments, he stood up and left the room. Walking off the ship, he nodded affirmative to Whenua, who was waiting with Nuju and Matau in the tidelines. Whenua nodded back and, drawing his earthshock drills from behind his back, struck the ship hard. The _Freedom_ did not give one of its customary groans as he continued his work. Nuju added his power to the job, freezing the side of the ship over to make it easier for his friend to break it open. Soon, water began to spill into the chamber.

Matau flew up to the deck, severing the anchor rope as he went, and began to steer the ship out to sea. He turned slightly to look at Onewa, who was standing turned away from the sight, head bowed and hugging himself tightly. Matau frowned sadly. His friend was in so much grief...but was taking it extremely well. Not one tear had been shed since the day two and a half weeks ago when Natareda Mahi had given her own life to save him. Matau? He had cried for DAYS after her death, and Nuju and Whenua had cried with him. At first, the Toa of Ice had retained a manner of detached sorrow, but after the third day, he had begun to let it show as well.

Once he got into deep enough water for the ship to sink completely, he would fly back to the shore of the island and help Vakama conduct the funeral arrangements like the Toa they were. It would be the kind of funeral conducted for the mightiest of Toa, a true hero. For that was what Natay was...a true hero who would stop at nothing to find a way to destroy those who were evil.

He heard Vakama shout, "Fire!" back on shore and smiled. The Ta-Matoran were about to show their skill in fireworks, dark ones of course, but fireworks nonetheless. Each one - all twelve of them - would be a tribute to the Toa Mahi, now completely gone from the world. As he watched, a red flame burst overhead. The Lhikan tribute.

A green one, Nidhiki.

Blue, Kaylani.

Violet, Shruikan.

Gray, Raura.

Silver, Kroova.

Brown, Vastor.

Black, Teeboe.

White, Terios.

Pink, Aruna.

Turquoise, Rostu.

And finally, the one he had been waiting for. Matau leaned forward expectantly.

And then, an orange firework, larger than the rest, burst above him, showering the sky in orange shards. Matau laughed delightedly as the _Freedom_ gave a long, loud groan.

"I think-feel the same, my friend." he said, patting it. "I feel the same. I STILL think-say _Matau_ is a better call-name for you, though."

It groaned again and he laughed.

"Alright, alright!" he said. "Your call-name is _Freedom_. Don't worry, I will remember."

He smiled once more as Vakama's voice rang out, loud and clear, over the ocean.

"And for Toa Typhon Origina, Toa of Water and a light in the darkness of the past month!"

A large deep blue firework burst overhead. Matau jumped in shock as a low, loud, but extremely happy laugh came rumbling from below the ocean. It sounded exactly like the voice of that Shadow Toa that had fallen in love with Nokama. He shook his head.

"I'm going crazy." he said.

"_I'm inclined to agree."_

He looked up again, and smiled. "Hello, Mother." he said happily.

Sylvaticus smiled. Grouped behind her were five other Toa, red, blue, brown, black, and white. Matau stiffened. "Itami?" he asked.

"_No."_ Sylvaticus shook her head. _"Not the Toa Itami. These, my son, are the Toa Origina...my team."_

"_Anubis knew we were destined to be the Origina, so he took matters into his own hands before we knew who we should have been."_ Hera, now a red Toa of Fire and wearing a Hau, explained. She peered at him closely. _"Now that I think about it, you're not all that bad."_ she said. _"Truce?"_

"...truce." Matau nodded.

Osiris, white with an Akaku, laughed happily. _"I prefer Sylva to Anubis as leader any day,"_ he grinned. _"I'm not getting kicked in the back for speakin' outta term anymore!"_

"_Like it did anything in the first place."_ Hestia, brown and wearing a Kakama, grinned, nudging him in the ribs. _"You were stupid as a rock. Still are, in fact." _ _"Be nice, Hestia."_ Set smiled. He was now black with a Pakari. _"We're not the Itami anymore."_ He looked at Matau intensely. _"I really must thank you and your friends for what you did."_ he said. _"I never thought I'd be grateful to someone for putting a hole through my head, but that Whenua kid did me a huge favor by doing so."_

"_It's just hard to believe..."_ Typhon sighed. His blue body and transparent blue Kaukau gleamed brightly in the light of the setting sun. _"We were destined for such greatness...to be the original heroes...only to have it snatched away from us so easily."_

"_I know!"_ Hera smote air angrily with one fist. _"If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have suffered so much!"_ She glanced guiltily at the door of the cabin that contained Natay's body. _"And neither would anyone else."_

Sylvaticus smiled and shook her head. _"The worst is over now, Hera."_ she said gently, touching the Toa of Fire's arm. _"You and our friends are safe now. And I am simply grateful that you know your true calling."_

She bent down and wrapped her arms around Matau. _"I am so proud of thee, little one,"_ she whispered in his ear. _"Thou hast confronted evil...and emerged victorious."_ She pulled back, tears glistening in her eyes, although she was still smiling. _"My Blade of Order is finally destroyed, and with it, any chance of evil wishing to use its power. But my heart...it still beats, right here."_ She put one hand over her chest and smiled.

"_My last duty is done...we are no longer needed here." _She looked behind her shoulder at the rest of the Toa Origina, waiting patiently for her to finish. _"My friends, let us leave this world for the last time. Come! Heaven awaits!"_

The five other Toa Origina all raised a loud, raucous cheer. Then, they and Sylvaticus all linked hands. Laughing happily, they rose into the sky and vanished in a shower of rainbow sparkles.

Matau's smile grew so wide, he felt it would crack his face. "Ya hear that, boat-ship?" he asked the _Freedom_. "Heaven awaits!"

Water had begun to seep up from the floor and out of the cabin. Matau let go of the steering wheel and activated his wings. Then, taking to the sky, he began to soar back the island he called home.

Mata Nui.

The _Freedom_, formerly known as the _Makuta_, built by the loving hands of the Toa Mahi, went beneath the waves with one last groan and sank, never to rise again.

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Nokama stood on the dock and stared out at the pounding waves, her heart aching worse than ever before. She often came to the docks to think, and right now, she needed it more than ever. The setting sun was...strangely comforting.

This was the exact spot where, more than a month ago, Vakama had brought her there to tell her something. She didn't know why she had chosen to come to THIS dock in particular, but some driving force had brought her here instead of the other ones lined up on the shore.

The entire two weeks they had been coming back to Mata Nui, Vakama had barely spoken to her, instead staying hidden away in the room he shared with Onewa. It had hurt pretty badly. Even when he DID come out, he avoided everyone on deck...especially her. She had no idea what she had done to make him so angry with her, but by now, she didn't want to know.

"Stupid Vakama." she muttered, hugging her arms tightly as a chilly wind began to blow.

"Nokama?"

She turned around at the sound of her name. Her heart skipped a beat involuntarily. Vakama was standing behind her on the dock, looking decidedly nervous. "Yes?" she asked.

He cleared his throat. "Remember that night last month when I wanted to tell you something? The night the Itami kidnapped you?"

"How could I forget?" she asked. She'd only had her hopes crushed and then watched him be thrown out to sea, then gotten herself knocked out and kidnapped by a bunch of psychotic murderers, after all. Nothing worth remembering there...

Vakama shuffled his feet, looking at the ground. "I still haven't told you what I wanted to tell you."

"I already know." Her icy tone surprised him. "Y...you do?" he asked, shocked. How could she know? He hadn't even told himself!

"Yes, I do." she snapped. Her eyes blazed into his angrily. "It's about one of your stupid visions again, isn't it, Vakama? Look, I KNOW you've been having weird dreams, you always do! So why was this one any different? Why did you go and get my hopes up for something so...so...irrelevant?"

"What?" He was shocked. What was this about one of his visions? When did he say it was about one of his visions? And...how had he gotten her hopes up? Just what in Mata Nui's name was she talking about?

"You know what!" she shouted, rounding on him. "I thought you were going to tell me something else, and then you tell me about a DREAM?" Her hand went to the necklace he had given her and curled around the pendant. "I thought this meant that you felt the same way for me that I do for you." she whispered. "I guess I was wrong."

"You're not." His gasping statement made her raise her head. "I gave that to you in light of an old ritual." he said. He looked at the ground. "When a Ta-Matoran falls in love, they do what they do best - smithwork. We do the best we can to find the rarest, prettiest metal, and the most radiant jewel possible, and then we make it into something beautiful. And then we give them to the one we want to spend the rest of our lives with." His voice dropped even lower as he went on. "And if she accepts your gift, then she feels the same for you that you do for her. That's what I was told all those years ago when I fell for you."

He didn't bother to look at her. "When you accepted my necklace, I was happy. I didn't exactly know why, but I was just...so happy that you had accepted it the way you did. It didn't hit me till later that I loved you...and even then, I didn't want to admit it." Vakama sighed, ignoring her sharp gasp. "Then, that day the Itami took you, Onewa told me to. To tell you how I felt. He also told me he'd break my arm if I broke your heart, but that's beside the point. The point is..." Now he looked up and gazed deep into her eyes.

"The point is, Nokama, is that I'm about to say what I wanted to say last month, right here, in this very spot." He took a deep breath and continued. "For some time now, I've been having these...feelings about someone. I care very deeply for them, and I've just now realized how deep those feelings go. I would - and I did - brave the very depths of darkness for you, and I would do it all again...just for you."

He looked into her eyes. "I love you, Nokama Metru. I love you with all my heart, and I always will. I just wanted to let you know."

He turned around and began to leave, fighting off tears as he did so. So he really WAS unrequited in his love for her. Onewa was wrong. She didn't love him at ALL. Instead of listening to him, she thought he was going to tell her about a DREAM? When in the world had he given that kind of indication?

For months, he had dreamed of this moment. Although denying his feelings, he couldn't deny that she was ultimately the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Mata Nui! He was still in love with her. Probably always would be.

Nokama stared at the retreating back of her friend, her mind and heart racing. He loved her? As much as she loved him? And the pendant he had given her was a way of telling her so?

How stupid of her! To think he was going to tell her about a dream... "Stupid!" she whispered, berating herself. Should she go after him, tell him how she REALLY felt?

What would Matau think? She bit her lip. She knew he liked her, but she didn't like him. And the others. What would they think? Onewa knew she was in love with Vakama, but what about the Nuju and Whenua? As far as she knew, they were too busy with their respective jobs as Toa and archivist / scholar to notice anything BUT things pertaining to those two jobs.

But just then, she found she really didn't care what anyone else thought of how she felt. She loved someone, and didn't care who knew it.

"Vakama!"

The Toa of Fire turned around just in time to catch Nokama as she jumped into his arms. "Nokama, what are you-"

He had no time to finish. She pressed her mouth to his and kissed him hard. Vakama froze for a minute, but then, heart feeling as though it would explode, kissed her back. This was what he had dreamed of doing for so long...showing her he loved her, and her returning the favor.

He pulled away and grinned.

"Do you love me?"

"Of course I do!" she snapped. "I wouldn't have done that if I didn't love you as much as I do."

"Well then, that's good." he said, "Cuz I feel the same."

Laughing now, they kissed once more in the light of the setting sun.

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The Toa of Stone looked over the edge of the cliff in Po-Wahi, wondering how far down it was, and how long the drop would be if he were to jump. He sighed. Might as well, he thought. After all...there was nothing left for him anymore. The Krahka was gone, Natay was gone...there was no one left for him to love anymore.

He took a deep breath, and closing his eyes, prepared to jump...

"'_Ey! Rock-smasher!"_

He stared, unable to believe his eyes. Natay was standing right in front of him, hovering about eight feet in the air! Only...she wasn't a Hordika anymore. She was the beautiful Toa Mahi of Power Scream again, with her orange Kakama and chain sickle belted at her waist. Her smile widened as he gasped.

"_Surprised?"_ she asked teasingly.

"Uh..."

"_Don't be."_ she said. _"I wanted to say goodbye. We ALL did, as a matter of fact."_ As if on cue, eleven, no, twelve, more figures appeared. Onewa's breath became even shorter. He was really seeing the Toa Mahi?

The violet one called Shruikan grinned. _"You gave our Tater happiness, kid. That can't be repaid. After all she went through, she deserved to be so happy again. Thanks."_

To Onewa's surprise, Natay smiled and took the hand of a tall, proud, green Toa of Air wearing a Mask of Stealth. His other hand was being held by a small girl of unknown origin. She looked like a Muaka, almost. Onewa's eyes widened. _"Happy-thanks for taking care of her for me, rock-smasher."_ the Toa of Air smiled. _"I owe you. Isn't that right?"_ He looked at the Muaka-creature whose hand he held. The child nodded and her face lit up in a smile.

"_I gotta mommy now!"_ she chirped.

"Nidhiki..." Onewa whispered. Nidhiki laughed, a long, happy sound. _"Yes, that's me."_ he said. _"Do you like this being-form better than my other one?" _He looked down at himself._ "This is more eye-pleasing, I think."_

"_You're not easy on the eyes in either."_ Shruikan smirked.

A red and gold Toa - Lhikan! - elbowed him in the ribs, smiling even wider than the rest. _"Alright, you clowns. Time to head back now. Heaven's waiting."_ He leaned down and kissed a blue Toa of Water gently on the lips. _"It's nice to have everyone back."_ she grinned, kissing him again. _"Even some who weren't a part of our original family."_ She looked at the Muaka child, who was now on Nidhiki's shoulders, laughing as Shruikan tickled her feet and Nidhiki yelled at them to stop. The rest of the Toa Mahi laughed at the sight of it.

"_Tell that Nuju kid to take good care of my telescope."_ the white one told Onewa. _"It was special to me. If he breaks it, I'll haunt him for the rest of his life."_

"I...don't think that'll be a problem." Onewa murmured, looking at Natay. Terios sighed. _"Look, I know you love her, always will love her."_ he said. _ "But it's time to let that go. She's back with us now. Make it easy on yourself, kid. Forget about us."_

"_Don't say that!"_ the pink Toa beside him snapped. She glared pointedly at Onewa. _"If you or any of your friends forget us, I will personally make sure you don't get a night's sleep EVER!"_

"_Jeez, Aruna..."_ the silver one - Kroova - muttered. _"Way to make 'im feel better..."_

Onewa smiled. "It's OK." he said. "I can't forget her...but I won't linger over anythin'. You can bet on that."

At this moment, Natay took her eyes off Nidhiki and looked at him. She sighed and walked to him, her hand slipping out of Nidhiki's. She cupped Onewa's face in her hands and - his heart stopped - kissed him long and deep. When she pulled away, she looked sad. _"I wanted t'do that fer a long time."_ she whispered. _"Shame that the only chance I got was when I finally died."_

The Muaka creature that Nidhiki was holding slipped herself off his back and waddled up to the Toa Metru of Stone, a thoughtful look on her face. Then, shrugging as if she didn't care what happened next, she threw her arms around him and hugged him. He froze for a moment, then relaxed as she pulled away. _"You took care of my new mommy for me an' Daddy."_ she said. _"You're a hero...just like them."_ She pointed to the Toa Mahi, all assembled here on the Po-Wahi plains, just for him. _"Daddy said you'd take good care of her for us, and he was right. Thank you, Onewa-friend."_

Onewa felt his throat clog with tears. Natay, going to be this kid's mother? So the father must be...

His eyes fell upon Nidhiki, who looked at him at the same time. The Toa of Air smiled understandingly. Picking his "daughter" up, he said, _"Don't fear-worry, Toa Metru. As much I'd like to true-believe she loves me as much as she loves you, I mind-know it's not real-true."_ He glanced reproachfully at Natay, who chuckled.

"_Mahi..."_ Lhikan's voice was sharper now. Nidhiki sighed. _"Well, see you in Heaven someday."_ he said, and, taking his daughter's hand again, faded away, along with the Toa Mahi with the exception of Natay, Lhikan, and the blue one Lhikan had kissed a few minutes ago, Kaylani, he thought her name was. She smiled gently. _"When the day comes, you'll be reunited."_ she said. She looked at Lhikan, and her smile got even more beautiful. _"I know that's the way things were for me."_

Lhikan smiled back at her and kissed her again. _"We are very proud of you and your team, Onewa."_ he said. _"And although we're dead, we are always here for you. Remember that."_ Both he and Kaylani faded, leaving just Natay. The Toa of Power Scream smiled at Onewa, and began to fade as well.

"No, wait!" he cried. "Don't go! Not yet...not..."

"_I'll see you in Heaven, rock-smasher."_ A hint of a smirk was evident in her voice. _"That sound good?"_

He smiled, wiping the tears that flowed freely from his eyes.

"See you there."

Natay laughed long and hard. Then, still laughing, she leaped up into the darkened sky and vanished into the stars.

**END.**

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**Featured Song: "Ready For Love" - Cascada**

**AN: And so does The Painmaker end. WAH! -cries- I had a lot of fun writing this one, that I did. And I hope you all had fun reading it. Many, many, MANY thanks to all who reviewed, once again!**


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